Hairy tongue?

Question

Okay, so I usually have a bad taste in my mouth and a brown tongue. A tactless friend with a keen nose swears I don't usually have bad breath, but it's still gross. Anyway, I heard of a cure for bad breath that involves gargling with a solution of one part salty water to one part hydrogen peroxide. It works wonders! So imagine my dismay to learn that even diluted hydrogen peroxide can irritate your mouth and cause a condition called hairy tongue. Everything I could find just said that repeated use does this, but they didn't say how often you need to do it to cause a problem. Is there any safe amount I can do this, like every other day or once a week? If not, do you have any other ideas? Regular brushing and tongue scraping don't work, nor does mouthwash.

Answer 1

I'm a dentist.

The dorsum (i.e. the upper surface) of your tongue has various anatomic components. Among other things, there are things called "filiform papillae" that cover the bulk of it.

Hairy tongue is basically elongated filiform papillae. They become elongated because they have accrued excess layers of keratin at their tops that ordinarily would be sloughed off.

Various things can cause it: inadequate mechanical stimulation of the tongue, thus allowing the keratin to build up on the filiform papillae. Cigarette smoking can promote it, as can certain medications (although I don't recall which kinds). I have never heard of peroxide causing hairy tongue, however.

As for its effect on your breath, it can be a problem because the "hairy" area is an excellent place for food debris, bacteria, and fungi (Candida albicans) to build up, all of which are malodorous...to put it mildly.

How do you treat it? If you're a smoker, stop smoking. If the hairy tongue came with the start of certain medications you recently began taking, try and change them (only if the doctor who prescribed them approves of the changes).

Also, brush your tongue and use a tongue scraper. They DO work. You just have to give them some time.

Answer 2

The Mayo Clinic site actually uses the solution you speak of as a remedy, only 1 part peroxide to 5 parts water. However, farther down, it says that regular use of peroxide as a mouthwash may cause it. I'd suggest using the peroxide solution only as often as needed to get rid of the current tongue condition.

Answer 3

that's probably an extreme side effects - and i'm sure it's very rare. and i would imagine that would require someone that doesn't drink a lot, or salivate a lot - and who keeps the penicillin on their tongue the entire time

Answer 4

you probably killed the normal oral flora and now have a fungus on your tongue. I would call my MD

Answer 5

ohh...call your MD like the other person said