Things that are cool about my job

Every once in a while someone comes in with a panicked look on their face and are embarrassed to show me what the panicked look is for. This week someone came in thinking that they had cancer. I asked what caused him to think this and he said "LOOK!" At that instant, out came his tongue.

All over the top of his tongue was a thin coat of black fuzzy stuff. If you have never seen this before, it can be gross, but I think it is kinda cool.  Cool, because I know what it is and by knowing what it is, it makes me look really smart. This is called BLACK HAIRY TONGUE and is a side effect of some antibiotics, blood pressure medications,psychotropic drugs, smoking, poor hygiene, coffee, tea and even certain mouth rinses. It is the elongation of the taste buds on the back of your tongue and they pick up stain and discolor over a short amount of time. NOT TO WORRY!!!! Most of this is cleared up by getting off the medication that is doing this and by brushing your tongue twice a day.

As a side note, oral cancer is nothing to talk lightly about. There are very reliable screening tests that are available through dental offices that can catch cancer so early that hopefully we can see a decline in this type of cancer soon.