Glossitis

Tongue inflammation; Tongue infection; Smooth tongue; Glossodynia; Burning tongue syndrome

Tongue

Schedule an Appointment

Definition

Glossitis is a problem in which the tongue is swollen and inflamed. This often makes the surface of the tongue appear smooth. Geographic tongue is a type of glossitis.

Causes

Glossitis is often a symptom of other conditions, such as:

  • Allergic reactions to oral care products, foods, or medicines
  • Dry mouth due to Sjögren syndrome
  • Infection from bacteria, yeast or viruses (including oral herpes)
  • Injury (such as from burns, rough teeth, or bad-fitting dentures)
  • Skin conditions that affect the mouth
  • Irritants such as tobacco, alcohol, hot foods, spices, or other irritants
  • Hormonal factors
  • Certain vitamin deficiencies

At times, glossitis may be passed down in families.

Symptoms

Symptoms of glossitis may come on quickly or develop over time. They include:

  • Problems chewing, swallowing, or speaking
  • Smooth surface of the tongue
  • Sore, tender, or swollen tongue
  • Pale or bright red color to the tongue

Rare symptoms or problems include:

  • Blocked airway
  • Problems speaking, chewing, or swallowing

Exams and Tests

Your dentist or health care provider will do an exam to look for:

  • Finger-like bumps on the surface of the tongue (called papillae) that may be missing
  • Swollen tongue (or patches of swelling)

The provider may ask questions about your health history and lifestyle to help discover the cause of tongue inflammation.

You may need blood tests to rule out other medical problems.

Treatment

The goal of treatment is to reduce swelling and soreness. Most people do not need to go to the hospital unless the tongue is very swollen. Treatment may include:

  • Good oral care. Brush your teeth thoroughly at least twice a day and floss at least once a day.
  • Antibiotics or other medicines to treat infection.
  • Diet changes and supplements to treat nutrition problems.
  • Avoiding irritants (such as hot or spicy foods, alcohol, and tobacco) to ease discomfort.

Outlook (Prognosis)

Glossitis goes away if the cause of problem is removed or treated.

When to Contact a Medical Professional

Contact your provider if:

  • Symptoms of glossitis last longer than 10 days.
  • Tongue swelling is very bad.
  • Breathing, speaking, chewing, or swallowing causes problems.

Get emergency care right away if tongue swelling blocks the airway.

Prevention

Good oral care (thorough tooth brushing and flossing and regular dental checkups) may help prevent glossitis.

References

Daniels TE, Jordan RC. Diseases of the mouth and salivary glands. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 393.

Pham KL, Mirowski GW. Oral diseases and oral manifestations of gastrointestinal and liver disease. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 24.

GO

Review Date: 1/29/2025

Reviewed By: Ashutosh Kacker, MD, FACS, Professor of Clinical Otolaryngology, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Attending Otolaryngologist, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language.

© 1997- A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.


All content on this site including text, images, graphics, audio, video, data, metadata, and compilations is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may view the content for personal, noncommercial use. Any other use requires prior written consent from Ebix. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, publish, reverse-engineer, adapt, modify, store beyond ordinary browser caching, index, mine, scrape, or create derivative works from this content. You may not use automated tools to access or extract content, including to create embeddings, vectors, datasets, or indexes for retrieval systems. Use of any content for training, fine-tuning, calibrating, testing, evaluating, or improving AI systems of any kind is prohibited without express written consent. This includes large language models, machine learning models, neural networks, generative systems, retrieval-augmented systems, and any software that ingests content to produce outputs. Any unauthorized use of the content including AI-related use is a violation of our rights and may result in legal action, damages, and statutory penalties to the fullest extent permitted by law. Ebix reserves the right to enforce its rights through legal, technological, and contractual measures.


BACK
TO
TOP