Suggest Treatment For White Coating On The Tongue

Posted on Fri, 20 May 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 20 May 2016 Answered on

Fri, 24 Jun 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello doctor,
Im really anxious about my white tongue.
I remeber i had white tongue for quite a long time but now i heard it may be because of hiv and its reallt stressing me out.
I had antibotics in january for two weeks due to having flu.
Does my tongue indicates any serious condtion?

Answered by Dr. Honey Arora (21 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Improper hygiene maintenance, nothing serious..

Detailed Answer:
Hi..
Welcome to HEALTHCARE MAGIC..

I have gone through your query and can understand your concerns..

As per your complain and the images attached the whitish appearance of your tongue is appearing due to poor maintenance of Oral hygiene leading to debris deposit over the tongue papillae..

It is not appearing to be anything serious or not looking like any signs of disease and not related to HIV..

Do not worry and start cleaning your tongue with a tongue scraper..
You can also gargle with 1:1 solution of hydrogen peroxide and water..
Use a soft toothbrush to clean your tongue.
You can eat more of hard foods like carrots and apples as they clean the tongue by friction..

Any further questions are welcome..

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Honey Arora (21 minutes later)

Thank you very much for your answer,
Can you kindly tell me the name of this condition?
I try scrapper and i brush it but jt seems hard to go away. I have been extremely anxious recently and usually i sleep with open mouth.

Answered by Dr. Honey Arora (9 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Does not look like any specific disease condition..

Detailed Answer:
Hi..
Welcome back..

It does not look like any disease condition and seems to be debris deposit and some fungal growth on tongue due to poor hygiene..

You will have to take the proper hygiene measures continuously for atleast 15 days..
If it still does not go away or even reduce consult an Oral Pathologist and get a microscopic examination of scraping from the tongue done to check for fungal infection..
If it is ruled out you will be advised antifungal mouthwash like Nystatin and Clotrimazole lozenges..

As of now you can simply relax as it is not due to HIV..

Any further questions are welcome.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Honey Arora (31 minutes later)

Its been two days i have dry mouth, i tried sugar free gums but didnt work. What shall i do?

Answered by Dr. Honey Arora (11 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Can be due to dehydration and stress..

Detailed Answer:
Hi..
Welcome back..

As per your query if you have a dry mouth since two days it seems to be probably due to dehydration and stress..

You can relieve it by drinking plenty of water..
Instil artificial saliva drops containing methylcellulose..
Gargle with specialized mouthwash formulated for dry mouth patients like Biotene..

Any further queries are welcome..

Regards.

Note: Find out which dental treatment will work best for your teeth. Ask here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Sonia Raina