Dental and Oral Health (Adults)

Tongue bump and white `tag`

02/26/2007 12:52PM

Question:

i have had this white tag on my tongue for about a year or more. To me it looks a little bigger from when it started. Should i get this removed... is it some type of cancer... the last time i went to the dentist... a year or two ago, she did not know what it was.. I just know because i looked it up on the internet. help

Answer:

There are many “bumps” and irregularities on the tongue. There is a wide variation of normal non-cancerous structures that can appear on the tongue. Since your dentist did not have much concern over the tag, I am assuming that she did not think it was cancerous.

You should be seeing your dentist every 6 months or less for check ups. If you have not done so in the last six months, make an appointment. Have the tag evaluated again. If the dentist does not give you a satisfactory answer about it, ask to have the area biopsied to put you at ease about cancer or ask if you could be referred to an oral pathologist who will most surely be able to diagnose what it is.

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Response by:

D. Stanley Sharples, DDS
Assistant Professor, Clinical
Section of Primary Care
College of Dentistry
The Ohio State University