I am a dental hygienist and I do periodontal therapy daily. Could you tell me if you were using a Chlorahexidine Rinse or not? See info...googled...
Black hairy tongue
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Black hairy tongue
Classification and external resources
ICD-10 K14.3
ICD-9 529.3
DiseasesDB 31923
eMedicine derm/639
Black hairy tongue (also known as "Hairy tongue,"[1] and "Lingua villosa nigra"[1]) refers to a number of conditions of humans and animals that cause the tongue to become unusually dark and/or hairy in appearance. It is associated with the elderly, as well as with antibiotic use. It is more commonly seen in tobacco smokers. While black is the most common color associated with the condition other colors are also possible[citation needed].
[edit] Causes in humans
Hairy tongue is a common condition caused by defective desquamation of the filiform papillae that results from a variety of precipitating factors. Some of these factors include poor oral hygiene, tooth loss (because a soft diet does not allow for normal desquamation from rough food scraping the tongue), chronic or extensive use of antibiotics, and radiation treatments to the head and neck. Hairy tongue is often referred to as black hairy tongue (lingua villosa nigra), but it may also appear brown, white, green, or pink- often due to secondary factors such as mouthwashes, breath mints, etc. The "hairy" areas are usually on the posterior (back) of the tongue and never involve the undersurface. Hairy tongue is not a harmful disorder, and is normally asymptomatic. Patients with hairy tongue often may develop a secondary infection of Candida albicans (thrush). It is unclear if hairy tongue itself is a predisposing factor, as the underlying causes of hairy tongue may also lead to the development of thrush. Procter & Gamble admits that Pepto-Bismol can cause one's tongue and stool to turn black.[2] This form of "black tongue," however, is a result of a reaction between the bismuth subsalicylate active ingredient and trace sulfur in saliva, forming bismuth(III) sulfide (Bi2S3). It is also possible for the tongue to turn dark in a similar manner after eating or drinking certain things such as beetroot or red wine.