Our tongues are incredible things that contribute to more than you realize. We thought it would be fun to share some amazing facts about your tongue, including what functions it serves, and how it can provide clues when you’re experiencing underlying health and oral health issues.
The Functions Of Your Tongue
Your tongue serves three distinct functions:
- Eating: Your tongue is considered a digestive organ designed to move your food around your mouth to make sure it gets chewed properly and then helps you swallow.
- Speaking: Your tongue is essential to speech, allowing you to form words and make sounds so people understand what you’re saying.
- Breathing: Your tongue allows you to breathe properly by helping to keep your airway open.
Facts About Your Tongue: It’s Mostly Muscles
Your tongue is mostly muscles, allowing you to manipulate it when you eat, speak, kiss, lick, play a musical instrument and breathe. However, it consists of several other parts as well, including the tissue holding it to the bottom of your mouth, called the frenum, and the covering called the mucosa that keeps your tongue moist. You also have tiny bumps on your tongue called papillae that contain your tastebuds.
Fun tongue fact: The filiform papillae located on the front two-thirds of your tongue are the only papillae that don’t contain taste buds.
How Does Your Tongue “Taste”?
Your tongue uses taste buds to detect the five different types of taste:
- Sweet
- Salty
- Bitter
- Sour
- Umami/savory
Fun tongue fact: Instead of having different types of taste buds to detect specific tastes, it takes all your buds working together to distinguish between the types of tastes.
The shape, location and number of buds is what differentiates them from each other:
- Fungiform are located on the sides and tip of your tongue, consisting of about 1,600 taste buds
- Circumvallate are much larger than other taste buds, representing approximately 250 taste buds located at the very back of your tongue
- Foliate are located on the back to the side of your tongue and contain several hundred taste buds
What Does Your Tongue Say About Your Health?
Colour
The colour of your tongue is a good indicator of your health. A healthy tongue is pinkish, but will change colour as a sign of underlying health problems. Here’s a tongue “colour chart” that tells you what your tongue says about your health:
White dots might indicate:
- Thrush
- Lichen planus
- Leukoplakia
Red or purple discolouration could be a sign of the following conditions:
- Vitamin deficiencies
- Scarlet fever
- Kawasaki disease
- However, when the red and purple is patchy, it is likely a harmless condition called “Geographic Tongue”
- A distinctly yellow tongue can be caused by psoriasis or in very rare cases jaundice; it is more likely related to bacterial overgrowth caused by smoking.
Limited Movement
Nerve damage can cause limited movement, as can tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) a condition that connects the frenum too closely to the floor of your mouth. This is more common in babies and can be corrected with a simple surgical procedure (frenectomy).
Taste
A change in taste (dysgeusia) or total loss of taste (ageusia) could be related to an infection or illness like COVID. However, in some cases, it could indicate nerve problems or taste bud damage. Certain medications can also change taste, including antithyroid agents, lipid-lowering agents, muscle relaxants, decongestants, and medications for treating mental illness.
Numbness
Tongue numbness can be related to many conditions, from allergies to autoimmune disorders, and nerve damage to vitamin or mineral deficiency.
Inflamed Bumpy Tongue
Your tongue can become irritated for a number of reasons, causing an inflamed feeling and enlarged taste buds. It can also be a sign of a minor infection.
Burning Tongue
Postmenopausal women are most likely to experience something called burning mouth syndrome that feels like the tongue has been scalded. It is quite uncomfortable but harmless.
Enlarged Tongue (Macroglossia)
An enlarged tongue can occur following trauma, but can also be a sign of health issues.
Bald Tongue (Atrophic Glossitis)
This condition makes your tongue feel smooth and free of bumps often resulting from vitamin B deficiency or anemia.
What Does Your Tongue Reveal About Your Oral Health?
There are a few things your tongue might reveal specifically about your oral health, including:
Discolouration
Although tongue discolouration can reveal general health issues, it can also indicate poor oral hygiene or oral fungal infection. A black, yellow, or brown tongue could be a condition called black hairy tongue, while a white coating can indicate inflamed filiform papillae. Both require attention from your dentist. It helps to clean your tongue while brushing your teeth or using a tongue scraper to remove bacteria buildup and tiny particles of food debris. Brushing your tongue can also reduce the risk of bad breath, gum disease, and plaque buildup.
Sore tongue
There are several things that can cause a sore tongue, including ill-fitting dentures. If you wear dentures, it’s important to see your dentist twice a year to check denture fit and look for signs of wear and tear that might indicate a replacement is needed. Some types of oral cancers can also cause tongue pain. Be sure to mention the pain at your regular dental checkup as part of your oral cancer screening.
Scalloped tongue
If you notice your tongue feels odd along the edges, it could be scalloped tongue. It’s caused by grinding or clenching your teeth which causes swelling and a scalloped indentation pattern along the edge due to the constant pressure. Your dentist can determine if it is related to bruxism or Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Disorder, and will recommend speaking to your doctor if they suspect it is something like a nutritional deficiency.
Sores and lesions
Sores and lesions on your tongue can be cold sores, cankers, or a sign of oral cancer. If you’re experiencing mouth sores that don’t go away or that come and go, speak to your dentist to help determine the cause as soon as possible.
If you think your tongue is trying to tell you something, you’re probably right. Your dentist cares about your oral health and is the best resource when you have concerns about your tongue.
Give us a call at 416-232-2033 or request an appointment by clicking here.