The Tongue Speaks

THE TONGUE DISORDERS:  

Is your tongue disturbing your peace of mind? Does your tongue speak?

Well, tongue disorders could be many and discomfort in any form-taste/trauma or pain could be annoying.

Injury: Traumatic injury is the most common cause of tongue discomfort. The tongue has many nerve endings for pain and touch and is more sensitive to pain than most other parts of the body. The tongue is frequently bitten accidentally but heals quickly.

A sharp broken tooth or filling could do considerable damage to this delicate tissue.

Your dentist could relieve you from the offending cause.

Hairiness: 1.An overgrowth of the normal projections on the top of the tongue(villi) can give it a hairy appearance.

Trichoglossus is a Parrot family having brush tipped tongue.

2.The tongue may also appear hairy after fever, after antibiotic treatment or when hydrogen peroxide mouthwash is used too often.

Hairy appearance on top of the tongue should not be confused with Hairy Leukoplakia found on the sides of the tongue, which is a characteristic of AIDS.

Improper scraping in cases of Hairy Tongue could cause Halitosis(bad breath)

Discoloration: The discoloration on the superficial aspect of the tongue could be due to varied reasons like-smoking,chewing tobacco,eating certain food products, or presence of colored bacteria growing on the tongue.

Medicines causing discoloration- like Bismuth preparations for an upset stomach.

These can be removed with a tongue scraper.

Redness of the tongue:Pernicious anaemia or vitamin deficiency.

Pale tongue:Iron deficiency anaemia.

Scarlet fever:Strawberry to Raspberry colour.

Kawasaki syndrome:Strawberry red tongue.

Vitamin deficiency(Niacin:Vit.B3, Pellagra):Smooth,Red and Painful tongue.

Inflamed Tongue(Glossitis):Red,Painful and Swollen tongue.

Burning Mouth Syndrome:Painful and burning tongue.

Whitish Patches on the tongue If accompanied with fever,dehydration:It could be the second stage of Syphilis, Oral thrush(fungal infection), Lichen Planus, Leukoplakia Or mouth breathing.

In geographic tongue, some areas of the tongue are white and rough whereas others are red and smooth. In this case , no treatment is required. The area of discoloration may move around period of weeks to years.

Alarming Signs In The Tongue-  

Dental Examination Includes Screening For Oral Cancer

Sores and Bumps: Sores on the tongue could be due to Oral Herpes Simplex Virus infection, Canker Sores ,Tuberculosis, Bacterial infections or Early stage syphilis, Allergies,Immune disorders.

Small bumps on both sides may be harmless. A bump on one side may be cancerous.

Signs of cancer: Unexplained red or white areas, sores or lumps(particularly hard) on the tongue- esp if painless.This could result due to tobacco habits, pipe smoking, cigars and nicotine products.

Sometimes associated with Syphilis.

Sites for oral cancer:Sides of the tongue or on the floor of the mouth.

Rarely on top of the tongue. Could be in case of Syphilis.

Discomfort: Irritation could be due to acidic food or toothpastes, some drugs, injury and infection.

Oral thrush or candidiasis can cause intense pain.

Discomfort is best treated by the process of elimination.May be change in diet, changing toothpastes brands,removing sharp edges of teeth or disturbing metal crowns or amalgam(silver) fillings.

Candidiasis is often treated with an anti-fungal drug such as Nystatin, in the form of mouth rinse and lozenges.

In most of these conditions there may be disturbances in taste and the main cause needs to be addressed to for relief.

If you like my post, please follow my blog

www.tutdental.com

For more information

Contact: Dr.Sreenita Chowdhury

drsreenita@tutdental.com