What processes contribute to the formation of a hairy tongue?

“Hairy tongue” is a common and harmless condition which is interpreted as “coated tongue”. Due to reactive hypertrophy of the filiform papillae on the back of the tongue with chronic irritation (smoking, drying of the mouth, fever), a villous plexus appears in the form of a partially exfoliating plaque with a changed color. Plaque and food debris stuck in it are a good breeding ground for microorganisms that can provoke the development of villous formations on the tongue, and with a change in their color from whitish to yellow-brown and black. What causes contribute to the formation of black fluffy plaque on the tongue, find out further on estet-portal.com.

Causes of hairy tongue

Plaque on the tongue is formed from many mature but not torn off epithelial cells, often forming islets, as well as from mucin, fibrin, neutral leukocytes, sometimes eosinophilic and mononuclear cells, bacteria, yeast fungi , food debris adhering to and between the filiform papillae of the tongue. The formation of changes on the filiform papillae of the tongue is facilitated by the immobility of the tongue, the mature age of the patient, the state of blood supply and salivation, notes estet-portal.com. Plaque in healthy people is found only on the back third of the tongue. In pathological cases, not the entire surface of the tongue is usually coated with intense plaque, and its edges in most cases remain free from plaque. hairy tongue  to a large extent has a prognostic value.<

Varieties of plaque coloration with hairy tongue

When examining the patient's oral cavity, one can sometimes notice filiform growths in the middle of the tongue and at its root. They may be due to old age, the development of malignant tumors, and are often found in patients weakened by chronic infectious diseases, inflammatory processes

of the oral cavity.

The change in color of the tongue and the formation of a hairy tongue depend on the following factors:

Yellowish-white, rarely yellowish-brown plaque may vary depending on the food taken (chocolate, red wine).

Black tongue coating occurs after taking activated charcoal or sucking on black candy, as a result of taking broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Purple-cyanotic coating on the tongue is possible with cardiac stagnation, cirrhosis of the liver.

Greenish-yellow coating with hairy tongue occurs in persons who prefer a milk diet.

Is a hairy tongue associated with gastrointestinal diseases?

Coated tongue is diagnosed more often in adults than in children.

Numerous clinical observations indicate that only in 30% of cases coated tongue occurs in people with gastric and duodenal ulcers.

Much more often, a hairy tongue is found in febrile conditions, especially with lobar pneumonia, peritonitis,

tonsillitis, sepsis, infectious diseases, etc. Even slight irritation of the peritoneum contributes to the formation of plaque on the tongue. Therefore, for example, with appendicitis, this symptom is often present. With peritonitis and acute pancreatitis, the tongue is dry. In addition, with peritonitis, there may be no plaque in cases of accession of gastric carcinoma, which occurs with severe anemia. On the other hand, in cancer patients, a dry, bright red, smooth tongue of the color of "raw meat" is often noticeable, and in some cases there may be a coating.

Provoking factors for hairy tongue

As provoking factors for black hairy tongue, one can note the impact of not only exogenous, local factors (toothpaste, mouthwashes, tobacco abuse, fungal infections), but also the use of antibiotics, especially penicillins and tetracyclines.

In the pathogenesis of hairy tongue, a lack of vitamin B in the body plays a certain role, which occurs as a result of the destruction of bacteria in the mouth and intestines by antibiotics.

Hairy tongue can be a manifestation of candidiasis and occur in children, and in adults it is more often a concomitant sign of the disease with severe general decline, acidosis or exsicosis (burns, severe enteritis, cachexia.). Therefore, the detection of a hairy tongue should be the reason for a detailed examination of the patient and identify the cause of the pathology.