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Just when you thought your oral problems were over, you woke up and noticed you had a white tongue. What could this mean? There are several explanations for white tongue, none of which are very pleasing.
The first explanation of white tongue is a disease called oral thrush. This is very common in newborn babies and not so common with adults. Nevertheless, thrush is a fungal infection. It is the abundance of a fungus named Candida. Everyone has Candida in their mouths; it’s just that people with thrush just have too much. Many times white tongue happens when people have weakened immune systems and the acidity in the mouth becomes unbalanced.
Another, more serious cause of white tongue is a chronic disease in the body. In Chinese medicine, the tongue is used as an indicator to the state of the body’s health. A dry, white tongue can mean there is something going on in the body that shouldn’t. It doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong with the mouth specifically.
One of the most common reasons for white tongue is far less serious. The white tongue could merely be the build-up of sulfurous compounds created by bacteria. The bacteria live beneath the surface of the tongue and excrete these compounds. This ends up causing bad breath. The majority of bad breath cases come from bacteria, and the majority of the bacteria cases come from the tongue. The good news is that in this situation white tongue can be easily taken care of and prevented. Brushing the tongue twice a day when brushing the teeth will prevent new bacteria growth. Some people need much more extreme measures. In these cases, white tongue can be removed with a tongue scraper. Some toothbrushes now-a-days have come out with a brush head on one side and a scraper on the other.
Although white tongue can have serious causes, the most common cause is not so serious. Bad breath may be embarrassing, but it is much better then suffering from a chronic disease of the body. White tongue is an easily curable condition when it’s caused by sulfurous compounds. If you get white tongue, don’t fret, just quickly determine the cause and take care of it.
March 15th, 2006 at 11:33 pm
I have had a white tongue for 20 years. I am 44. I can most always brush it off, it is mainly at the back of the tongue. How do I know if this is a serious oral thrush? I did take quite a few antibiotics (and prednison for a week) so I don’t know if I need to treat it as candida? Thanks for your help. Kevin
February 13th, 2007 at 8:07 am
I have had a white coating on the back of my tongue for three years. Drs have done tests for yeast (thrush) infection and tests came back clear. Any help gratefully received.
April 3rd, 2007 at 4:29 pm
I have the white tongue thing. I had tried scraping and brushing. I don’t have bad breath. I would like help trying to figure it out!!! It’s mostly on the front of my tongue, and it looks like I poured sugar on my tongue, more in the middle. Thanks
April 11th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
White tongue, seems like I am not the only one with this problem.
I have dentures, that could be one cause. I have MS, and lots of different meds, this oculd be it too.
My breath is not bad, the coating is just there.
The sides of my tongue sometimes burn and seem irritated, and at times my tongue burns, the fild brushes off easy enough.
I have had it looked at by 10 dr.s and 1 dentist. They are not ocncerned about it. I am. It began after the interferon treatments (stopped them), and steroid infusions (must have.
Can having MS cause a white tonge?
April 11th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
OK, then how about this. sometimes it seems like I have hydrogenproxide in my mouth. Yes sometimes it taste like it and have used none.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Leona, this is just my personal take.
I think for many people the tongue is a very visible “detox” organ, like the skin.
I have fasted before and like many people, when fasting, the tongue gets VERY coated and white and the breath gets strange (sort of like a “graveyard” is how my husband described it!), then when the fasting is complete it gets pink and clear again, it’s a very clear sign that you’re done.
My guess is that your white tongue is not from the MS but from the toxins that necessarily load up your body when taking those heavy-duty drugs. This is something in my experience that standard medical professionals know NOTHING about.
Here, I would suggest spending some time at a site like Curezone. It’s full of suggestions, some strange and some not-so-strange, but anyone with an ongoing health problem is likely to get some new approaches and insight by reading the (noncommercial) forums.
Suggested places to start:
white tongue discussions on curezone (link)
MS forum on curezone (link)
Hope this helps …
May 20th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I HAVE HELP PEOPLE!!! It hasn’t worked for me but it has with lots of other people. Here are ways to get rid of a white tongue:
Mix together salt water (the more salt the better) and take a gulp full and hold it in ur mouth on your tongue for 30 seconds. Then spit it out and if it doesn’t work try it again.
or
Rinse out your mouth with listerine twice a day because whats on your tongue could be fungus and what better item to treat that fungus then listerine. I haven’t tried the listerine yet but it should work. I am trying it later today. I will post the results for u. plz e-mail me at DemonNeko1@Yahoo.com and tell me if this worked for u or not. And most importantly, NEVER try brushing it off your tongue unless u have talked to a doctor and oked it. U never know if u have something serious that can spread by this.