OC 5 - screening (normal)

Question 1

What is the normal appearance of the dorsum of the tongue?

Answer 1

symmetrical, outlines of the taste buds red, symmetry of movements etc

Question 2

What causes geographic tongue?

Answer 2

to do with differences in cell turnover times
(migratory, won’t always look patterned)

within realms of normality, up to 2% of the population has it

Question 3

What causes black hairy tongue?

Answer 3

(not always black)
- heaping up of papillae
- often associated with soft diet
- black pigment producing bacteria

Question 4

What is papillary hyperplasia?

Answer 4

enlarged papillae, within realms of normality

Question 5

What might lumpy lesions at the back of the lateral tongue be?

Answer 5

traumatised/inflamed vallate papillae, can get larger and be painful

remove obvious sources of trauma and review for improvement

Question 6

What things might be relatively normal to see on the buccal mucosa?

Answer 6

evidence of chewing/clenching along the line of occlusion

small white spots can be caused by ectopic sebaceous glands