What Causes Swelling And White Discoloration Around Frenulum Of The Tongue?

Posted on Tue, 8 Dec 2015

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

Tue, 8 Dec 2015 Answered on

Tue, 29 Dec 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I have a what seems a small white spike under my tongue on the left side of the main vein that runs up the middle of the bottom of my tongue. It doesn't hurt much, more annoying. It just started this past Sunday after a dinner with very hot horse radish. Can you tell me what it might be and what I can do to get rid of it? Thanks.

Answered by Dr. Sumit Bhatti (23 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
There does seem to be discoloured, swollen, congested mucosa around it.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thank you for your query.

1. There are a few possibilities here. This is in the region of the frenulum of the tongue in between the papillae of the submandibular salivary ducts.

2. This is either a foreign body embedded in the frenulum of the tongue, or it is a foreign body in the opening of the submandibular salivary duct (Wharton's Duct) or a salivary stone.

3. The best way is to visit an ENT Specialist or a Dentist who can carefully palpate this, get an X-ray and gently remove it.

I hope I have answered your query. If you have any follow up queries, I will be available to answer them.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj