Skip to main content

Geographic Tongue Symptoms and Treatments

This is also known as benign migratory glossitis. This is usually not painful but this may lead to sensitivity problems and discomfort.Geographic tongue is a harmless condition which affects only the tongue surface.
In normal tongue there are small, pink bump like structures which are called papillae. With geographic tongue these papillae lost and that area looks smooth and reddish in colour. Also these areas are appeared to be like small islands which surround slight raised borders. Sometimes these raised borders may be in white. This can persist for more than a month. These lesions may move around the tongue. This movement is very rapid. The lesion heals and moves to another area of the tongue causing the same appearance. Due to this movement of these lesions it is known as geographic tongue.
The exact cause for geographic tongue is unknown. Vitamin B deficiency may be involved. This condition may occur due to irritations from hot and spicy foods or from alcohols. But in very rare cases that smoking patients are present with geographic tongue. Also following factors may link with geographic tongue, such as psoriasis, pustular psoriasis, fissured tongue. Also can be associated with anemia, oral contraceptive use, diabetes, stress and other skin disorders. In some cases certain foods such as cheese may trigger this condition. Also this may be a genetically inherited condition and with women it can be associated with menstrual cycle. It is now found that this may result from the activity of some of the white blood cells, but still the condition is not understood. Geographic tongue usually occurs around 2% of the population. This condition is more common in adults. Geographic tongue appears more often in females than in males.
Symptoms include smooth, red, irregular shaped lesions on the top or /and slides of the tongue. Rapid changes occur in the location, shape and also in the size of the lesions. Soreness and burning pain. These symptoms may increase during the women’s menstruation cycle and during her pregnancy period. These lesions may sometimes moves to the other parts of the mouth or in the lips.
If the lesion does not cure within a week or 10 days, consult a dentist or a doctor. Diagnosis of geographic tongue is usually done by examining the tongue using a lighted instrument. And effective diagnosis is carried out by moving the patient’s tongue around in various positions. Gentle touch will identify the firmness or tenderness in the texture of those lesions. Also checking for swollen lymph nodes or checking for fever.
In severe conditions breathing troubles may occur, and tongue may severely swell. This may lead to speaking, chewing or swallowing problems. If so it is important to consult a dentist or a doctor immediately.
Since this condition is harmless but irritable, to cure or control the irritation or the pain the doctor will give medications such as, pain relievers, antihistamine mouth rinses, corticosteroid ointments or rinses and mouth rinses which contains anesthetic. Also this can be reduced or most probably recover by avoiding eating hot, spicy, acidic or salty foods. Avoiding alcoholic drinks, tobacco products and toothpastes which containing high flavoring agents, whitening agents and tartar control additives will also prevents geographic tongue
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apple Invents a new Health feature for AirPods that will provide diagnosis & monitoring of Bruxism

Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to a possible future health related feature regarding the diagnosis and monitoring of bruxism using motion sensors in AirPods. Teeth grinding and jaw clenching (bruxism) are the most common parafunctional behavior manifested during sleep and awakeness. Awake bruxism has been mostly associated with emotions like anxiety, stress, frustration or tension. During sleep it causes sleep disorders and arousals. Individuals are mostly unaware of the occurrent and severity of their bruxing habits. The unawareness results in a myriad of orofacial muscle pain and dental consequences like teeth damage, wear and fractures. Commercial devices in dental practice to monitor and treat bruxism are expensive, inconvenient for frequent daily use. For instance, Polysomnography (PSG) studies that target the monitoring of sleep bruxism, require patients to sleep in a clinical setting overnight. Further, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Esthetic Oral Rehabilitation with Veneers

Porcelain veneers had long been considered to be only an esthetic solution. However, their range of indications has been steadily increasing, making ceramic veneers a highly viable alternative to classic, far more invasive forms of restorative treatment. Today, veneers can be used to handle esthetics (discolored teeth, fractured and worn teeth, diastemas, dental defects, etc.) and to restore the biomechanics of the dentition, as well as many other indications. Classifications of Veneer Preparations Referred to as no, minimal, or conventional preparation, veneer classifications—or lack there of—create a large gray zone of misunderstanding and miscommunication with patients and within the dental profession. Left unanswered, questions regarding tooth structure removal, finish lines and margins, and other aspects can cause confusion in practice. Flaws and inaccuracies in previously proposed preparation guidelines make those guidelines irrelevant . To dissolve uncertainty, this v...
Post a Comment
Read more

Orthodontics for Esthetic Dental Treatment: Symbiotic Efforts for Optimal Results

Human fascination with beauty and esthetic trends is continuously evolving; moreover, public awareness and desire to improve facial appearances are at the highest level. This trend of heightened public awareness and expectation is paving a new way of dentistry toward a more comprehensive approach with esthetic principles at its core. The oral health of the patient and his or her dentition are fundamental in dental treatment. However, the final esthetic outcome should be among the first steps in treatment planning. The ideal esthetic approach in dental treatment planning often requires a multidisciplinary approach engaging various dental professionals. This process requires thorough communication among dental practitioners and a basic understanding of what each discipline can provide. FACIAL ANALYSIS Facial evaluation is an integral part of patient examination. It starts with evaluating facial symmetry, as symmetric faces are considered more beautiful than those that are n...
Post a Comment
Read more