White Spot Behind Tongue. Following Good Dental Hygiene. What Is The Reason For Spots?

Posted on Thu, 12 Jul 2012

Question: I spotted whitle spot behind the tounge(in the throat) recently (2-3 months back).
Earlier I was not taking proper oral care(3-4 years back) but from last 3-4 years I am practising good oral care by brushing twice, gargalling frequently with water/Lysterine etc. My teeths have got no problem.

Before 3-4 years, I used to smoke and not clean my tounge while brushing etc..
I am/was not having any bad eating habbits like eating pan masala etc.

Please advise if white spot is a serious thing and what causes it.
Also let me know how I can get rid of it?

Thanks, XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Sumit Bhatti (6 hours later)

Hi,

Thank you for your query.

1. There is a lot of tonsil like lymphoid tissue normally present in the back of the throat (behind the tongue). This may be infected or inflamed and appear white. It is not clear if you are seeing a white spot on the back of the tongue itself. Then it may be a normal valate papilla.

2. Get an ENT Specialsit to examine your throat and nose. Do you suffer from any allergy or acid reflux?

3. Rule out leukolplakia or a foreign body reaction if it is a single spot. This develops due to chronic irritation. Can you share a close up image of your throat?

4. Since you maintain good oral hygiene and have no exposure to tobacco and pan masala, there is no cause for worry. You may follow up with the ENT Specialist or insist on a small biopsy of the edge of the white area if medication does not cure it.

5. Kindly let me know the results of your investigations. This will help in suggesting further treatment.

I hope that I have answered your queries. If you have any further questions, I will be available to answer them.

Regards.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar