Black Hairy Tongue

Black hairy tongue is a temporary oral condition that gives black and furry appearance to the tongue due to the buildup of dead skin cells on the papillae of tongue containing taste buds. It is usually a harmless condition. These affected papilae become longer than usual resulting in the easy trapping of bacteria, yeast and other food substances.

Symptoms

Symptoms of this condition are as under:

Dark discoloration of the tongue although the color could be green, Brown or tan and green
Tongue will have furry appearance
Metallic taste
Bad breath or halitosis
If the overgrowth of the papillae become increased gagging or tickling sensation can occur

Causes

Following are some possible causes which could result in hairy tongue appearance:

After antibiotic use which resulted in the disturbance of the normal biotic bacteria’s in the mouth
Poor hygiene
Decrease in the production of saliva resulted in dry mouth or xerothermia
Continue use of mouthwash having peroxide
Excessive tobacco or alcohol use
Consumption of soft diet only
Increase in the coffee or tea uptake

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of this condition depend upon the detail history of the patient and general physical examination. Along with that a good examination of the tongue is done to rule out the factors causing this hairy appearance on the tongue. Other factors could mimic this condition like viral or fungal infection, pigmentation on tongue, oral lesions, pseudo hairy tongue appearance due to the consumption of bismuth products.

Treatment

This condition don’t require medical treatment as it is a harmless condition. Although just avoiding the causative agent could help in reversing the furry appearance.

Home Remedies

Maintain oral hygiene and brush properly.
Do brushing after eating
Proper flossing at least once a day
Try consuming healthy organic diet.

Black Hairy Tongue