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Newsletter extra - Nov 2018

What Is The Diagnosis?

Geographic tongue Geographic tongue with pain and burning sensation

Geographic tongue is a recurrent, benign, usually asymptomatic, inflammatory disorder of the mucosa of the dorsum and lateral borders of the tongue. Geographic tongue is characterized by circinate, irregularly shaped erythematous patches bordered by a white keratotic band (Top Image). The central erythematous patch represents loss of filiform papillae of tongue epithelium. Geographic tongue can, although rarely, present as symptomatic.

The image in this week’s quiz was Geographic tongue with more severe symptomatology, including pain and a burning sensation when eating spicy foods. The contrast between the normal tongue tissue and the pink atrophic papillae is striking. (Courtesy of Ellen Eisenberg, DMD.)