Is Your Tongue ColourAn Indicator to Overall Health

 

Is Your Tongue ColourAn Indicator to Overall Health

Our Tongue, an exceptional muscle of the human body that isn’t connected to any bones at its two ends, is something all of us take for granted. Your tongue came into light when you uttered the first word of your life that drew everyone’s attention to you.

 

Nevertheless, the tongue is more than just a means of communication. The fundamental responsibility of the tongue is swallowing and chewing food. Additionally, the tongue is equipped with many nerves that communicate exotic tastes to the brain.

 

However, some of the best dentists can still learn a lot about your dental and overall health by the clues left on your tongue. A simple glance at the colour of your tongue can tell them a lot about your health.

 

Healthy Tongue: What does it look like?


It is crucial to have a clear idea of what healthy tongues look like.

 

Generally, a healthy tongue is supposed to be a pleasant shade of pink colour covered with a slim white coating(papillae). Even so, variations of dark and light pink shades are considered normal.

 

How to Identify an Unhealthy Tongue?


An out of sight disease or infection is indicated by significant changes in tongue colour. The periodic change in the tongue’s colour will tell you about your body’s condition as a whole.

 

Other indications may include burning sensations of the mouth, white patches on the tongue, and pain while eating or drinking, etc.

 

Below is a list of possible causes of tongue abnormalities gleaned from the variations of colour.

 

1. White Tongue:

If an individual faces trouble swallowing or eating, this may result in fungal infections such as oral thrush, leukoplakia, or oral lichen planus.

 

This condition will cause pain or damage to the tongue, resulting in thick red spots and lines forming on the tongue area and hence the tongue colour turns noticeably white.

 

This condition is easily treatable with an antifungal rinse or pill.

 

2. Red Tongue:

If your tongue has turned to redness in the place of dark pink, this is might be one of the 4 cases mentioned below:

 

Vitamin B-12 Deficiency: The redness of a tongue is a consequence of the scarcity of folic acid (vitamin B-9) and cobalamin (vitamin B-12).

 

Geographic Tongue: Have you ever seen some red patches along with chalky edges on the tongue? This server hints at a constraint called geographic tongue.

 

Geographic tongue constraints are generally harmless though the marks may reposition slowly but surely.

 

Kawasaki Disease: Kawasaki disease is a critical condition that is mostly observed in infants below 5 years of age. The most common symptom of Kawasaki disease is apex fever in parallel to the strawberry-like colour of the tongue.

 

Scarlet Fever: This is another circumstance like Kawasaki disease. You need to catch up with the best dental clinic for further treatment.

 

3.  Yellow Tongue:


Having bacteria over the tongue is natural, however, if this bacteria is increasing bit by bit then yellowing of the tongue is natural.

 

Symptoms may include:

      Intake of certain vitamins.

      Smoking.

      Tobacco.

      Psoriasis.

      Diabetes.

 

4. Orange Tongue:

Poor dental hygiene or dry mouth are the culprits behind the orange colour of the tongue. Like the yellow colour of the tongue, the orange colour is also a result of a rise in bacteria all over the place of the tongue.

 

Antibiotics like beta carotene, furthermore, turns the tongue orange.

 

5.   Blue Tongue:


A bit shade of blue is an indicator of the inadequacy of oxygen that results from:

      Shortage of oxygen from Lungs.

      Blood Disorder.

      Kidney Disease.

 

An incompetent oxygen level in the blood is quite an emergency case that requires medication.

 

6. Green Tongue:

The starting point of infection or excessive rise in certain kinds of germs is one of the reasons for green colour appearance.

 

The continuous rise of bacterias and untreated dental issues are an invitation to more and more awful health conditions.

 

7. Black/Gray Tongue:

Geographic tongue is one of the reasons behind the blackish/greyish chalk-white marks. A 2017 study estimates that approximately 43.5% of people (out of 200) have grey tones.

 

When Should you Book an Appointment?


It is natural for the tongue’s colour to change, such as after eating blackberries your tongue’s colour turns black. Although, this must not last for a very long time.

 

Book an appointment at the best dental clinics in Nagpur, if you find a change in the texture, colour or size of your tongue.

 

So, the next time you fall sick, stand in front of a mirror and look at the slight changes on your tongue and listen to what your tongue is trying to tell you about your overall health.

Ravi Barot
Ravi Barot

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