Developing a pale and white tongue reflects that your body functioning is abnormal. There can be various reasons for a pale tongue instead of pink. However, we have discussed the five vital causes for your pale tongue and how we can prevent them.
Whenever we encounter such a problem, we wonder about the possible causes behind it. Likewise, the possibility of getting your tongue to go pale or white is due to the result of papillae’s swelling on our tongue’s surface. When papillae get swollen or enlarged, the dead cells, bacteria, and other things start getting trapped between them, thereby forming a pale white coating. However, that is not only the cause of discoloration of your tongue. There are various other causes including-
Leukoplakia
Leukoplakia is a condition when white patches start to appear on the tongue. These surfaces can be-
White with smooth or rough edges
Red irregular shaped edges
Sometimes elevated shaped
These patches can appear on either side of the tongue. It can appear on the tongue’s surface, underneath the tongue, or on the sides of the cheeks. The primary cause of leukoplakia is heavy tobacco use and high alcohol consumption.
Men in the age group of 50-70 are most likely to get affected by the disease. However, people under the age of 30 rarely contract this disease.
This disease is not associated with any pain; however, it does not mean that the problem isn’t serious. The Dentist in McKinney TX suggests consulting a dentist to avoid further complications. This disease can sometimes turn into a chronic disease and possibly into cancer. Hence, early detection is the key to get away from such diseases.
Switching to a healthy diet and quitting tobacco and alcohol can help manage your symptoms. Other than that, dentists may prescribe you some vitamin A or retinoids as your dietary supplements.
Geographic Tongue
In this condition, your tongue starts to develop red and white patches, much like psoriasis. Experts suggest that discoloration caused by this condition is inflammatory yet harmless, and it varies over the period as these patches move around the tongue surface.
It is painless and goes away independently. The primary symptoms show sensitivity to spicy, sweet, or salty food.
Dry Mouth
The fact is dry mouth can be caused by different other problems as well. And when the mouth stays dry for a longer time, it can cause the tongue to be white.
When a mouth stays dry for a longer time, saliva glands present in the mouth do not produce enough saliva to keep the mouth appropriately moisturized. And when the mouth does not have enough saliva, it becomes difficult to kill the excess bacteria, food bits, and other debris. Because of the presence of all the debris, the tongue gets discolored.
Nonetheless, sore throat, thickened saliva, and bad breath are also the reasons for a change in tongue color. To treat a dry mouth, it’s always important to know the possible causes of it, and that is why visiting a dental professional is crucial.
However, to get short-term relief from dry mouth, sucking on lozenges helps to stimulate saliva flow.
Oral Thrush
The other name for this condition is a yeast infection. It does not exactly change the color but develops patches on the tongue surface and gives a pale appearance to our tongue. When you visit your dentist, they are more likely to treat you with mouth rinse or prescription pills.
Stanford Medicine suggests that dentists can also run a painless procedure where they can scrape off the patches. Always keep it a priority to visit a dentist for appropriate treatment if your tongue develops white patches.
Poor Oral Hygiene
People who do not follow a proper dental hygiene regime develop a white tongue. If you do not brush or floss your mouth regularly, unwanted bacteria will start to grow, and debris will remain stuck on your tongue and mouth. All these poor practices can lead to cavities, pale tongue, and dental infections. Hence, it’s better to follow a proper dental regime to achieve optimal dental health.
Treatment For Pale Tongue
One of the common causes of the pale tongue is following poor oral hygiene practices, hence focus, on improving your dental hygiene habits. The oral hygiene regime includes brushing with a soft-bristle toothbrush, flossing between the teeth using water flossers or floss, and various other interdental cleaning devices. Furthermore, gently brushing your tongue with tongue scrapers would also suffice.
Keep drinking plenty of water to avoid any mouth or other health issues. Most importantly, talking to your dental professional about the causes of discoloration of your tongue will help you recover faster. Dental professionals will run dental exams on you and ask different questions to recommend a customized treatment plan.
A pale tongue is not an indication of a severe medical condition; however, it might become a chronic disease if you treat it carelessly. Also, it is always startling whenever something is differently visible in our bodies, so it’s always advisable to take the help of an expert and get back to a healthy body.