Geographic tongue is a common oral finding. It is AKA benign migratory glossitis and is seen in up to 1/30 of the human population. Females have it twice as often as males. It is thought that inheritance is polygenic. There is a slightly increased risk if the patient has psoriasis. Most are asymptomatic – though it may cause mild sensitivity to spicy foods. The treatment is reassurance and education. It may come and go for a brief period of time or persist for months to years.
Conditions that geographic tongue can be confused with
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- Oral candidiasis
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- Hand, foot and mouth
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- Fissured tongue
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- Cancer of the tongue
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- Chemical burn
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- Contact stomatitis
Examples of Geographic Tongue
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- Totally a geographic tongue
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- Perfectly mapped out geographic tongue (from NEJM)
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- Wavy geographic tongue
