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Child Has Deep Fissures On Tongue With White Patches. Needs To Be Checked?
Since my daughter was very little she has been diagnosed with a geographical tongue . She is now 14 and we left the dentist after cleaning and they want me to take her to an oral specialist to eval the entire tongue for deep fissures with white patches . Everything I am reading goes back to geographical tongue ( which her dad has) and basically this is like a freckle or wrinkle and nothing really to do about it. Should this be looked at further and or should I be concerned? I am feeling as if this Dentist is money hungry. Thank you in advance, Sara
Thu, 25 Oct 2012
User's Response
Dr. Dhivya Ananth,
Pediatrician's Response
Pediatrician's Response
Hi . Thanks for the query.
I dont think you need to be too concerned as geographical tongue does run in families and the cause is not known for sure. However, some people respond dramatically to a change in diet and multivitamin supplementation.
I would advice you,for 3 months, to insist on good oral hygiene for your daughter, brushing with creamy( not gel) toothpaste, flossing twice a day, followed by avoidance of certain allergans like nuts, fish, egg yolk, brinjal, pineapple, citrus fruits, etc. She has to take a healthy diet with lots of greens and other fruits. A daily single dose of multivitamin - multimineral tablet for 3 months.
If after 3 months, you find there is no change, do consult an oral pathologist for further evaluation.
Hope you are reassured
I dont think you need to be too concerned as geographical tongue does run in families and the cause is not known for sure. However, some people respond dramatically to a change in diet and multivitamin supplementation.
I would advice you,for 3 months, to insist on good oral hygiene for your daughter, brushing with creamy( not gel) toothpaste, flossing twice a day, followed by avoidance of certain allergans like nuts, fish, egg yolk, brinjal, pineapple, citrus fruits, etc. She has to take a healthy diet with lots of greens and other fruits. A daily single dose of multivitamin - multimineral tablet for 3 months.
If after 3 months, you find there is no change, do consult an oral pathologist for further evaluation.
Hope you are reassured
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