Glossodynia. Causes of the disease and methods of treatment

Glossalgia is a secondary manifestation of a number of diseases and manifests itself in the form of painful sensations in the tongue area. The patient may experience burning, pinching, tingling and other unpleasant symptoms. Symptoms are not related to external stimuli or food intake. Upon examination, the mucous membrane of the tongue is not changed, has a physiological color, and is free of damage. The pain can be quite intense and usually occurs for no apparent reason. Taking painkillers provides only a short-term effect. To radically solve the problem, it is necessary to identify and eliminate the main cause causing these clinical manifestations.

According to ICD-10, glossalgia is one of the manifestations of glossodynia, which is a pathology of a neurological nature.

Glossalgia of the tongue: causes and treatment

Content:

• Types of glossalgia

• Causes of the disease

• Clinical manifestations of glossalgia

• Diagnosis and treatment of glossalgia

• Prevention of tongue diseases

• Doctor's advice

• Answers on questions

Treatment of glossalgia of the tongue includes an integrated approach. The following may be involved in therapy: dentist, neurologist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist.

Glossalgia – what is it? A dental disease, the symptoms of which are discomfort and a burning sensation in the tongue.

Reasons for appearance

This disease belongs to the genus of polyetiological ones. This means that a variety of reasons can lead to its appearance:

• injuries to the oral mucosa;
• problems with the gastrointestinal tract;
• disturbances in the functioning of the hypothalamus;
• nervous system disorders;
• side effects from taking medications.

Mouth injuries

Injured mucous membranes of the oral cavity are called the main cause of glossalgia. Microtraumas caused by foreign objects and sharp edges of teeth lead to impaired blood circulation in the capillaries, which results in stagnation of blood in the mucous membrane.

Endocrinology

Disturbances in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and their chronic diseases are the second common cause of unhealthy sensations in the tongue. Most often, people with reduced gastric secretion, chronic colitis, cholecystitis, and hepatitis suffer from this.

Hypothalamus

Pathologies of the hypothalamus lead to disruption of all basic functions of the body, including such important ones as: the cardiovascular system and the digestive system. These deviations are also reflected in the state of the tongue.

Nervous system

Nervous disorders, depression, constant stress, overwork, or psychological trauma are another reason.

Side effects

A famous expression says: “everything is medicine and poison.” Some medications, when used in incorrect proportions or when the body is sensitive to taking them, give side effects, expressed in glossalgia.

Other reasons

Other causes include: stomatitis, infectious inflammation of the tongue, salts of heavy metals and other chemical poisoning.

Types of glossalgia

Based on the location of pain, there are:

1. mandibular glossalgia – pain in the area of ​​innervation of the inferior alveolar nerve;
2. maxillary - in the area of ​​the second branch of the trigeminal nerve;
3. mandibular-maxillary – a combination of the first two;
4. glossopharyngeal – pain in the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves;
5. frontoparietal - discomfort begins with the skin of the forehead, temples, then moves to the oral cavity;
6. occipital - pain sensations begin in the back of the head with subsequent transition to the oral cavity.

Pathogenesis

Pain localized in the tongue area is not a manifestation of a visible inflammatory process or the result of morphological changes.

The symptom complex of glossalgia is usually caused by damage to the autonomic nervous system, which are formed against the background of chronic somatic diseases of the digestive system, as a result of vascular and endocrine disorders. The development mechanism may be based on:

• allergic reactions;
• action of galvanic currents;
• disruption of salivation (salivation);
• decrease in the threshold for the perception of irritation.

Clinical manifestations of glossalgia

Symptoms of glossalgia:

• the presence of paresthesia - a sensitivity disorder of the oral mucosa, manifested in the form of burning, tingling, numbness (patient o);
• diffuse pain without clear localization;
• dry mouth;
• the feeling of heaviness and swelling of the tongue is disturbing - patients have difficulty speaking, speech is sluggish;
• in 30% of patients, a violation of taste sensitivity is detected;
• saliva is scanty, viscous;
• headaches, increased fatigue, sleep disturbance.

The first signs of glossalgia: burning, tingling in the tongue, feeling of fatigue after speaking. If you have these symptoms, we recommend that you contact a dentist in Moscow.

General information

Glossalgia refers to diseases of the tongue, as the sympathocomplex has a number of causes: neurogenic, symptomatic, ischemic, caused by local factors. Usually the process is polyethylogical and does not cause morphological changes; it is expressed in the form of paresthesia and hyperesthesia , which are felt as a burning sensation and perversion of taste.
The course is long-term, from several months to several years, and is associated with systemic diseases, psychological disorders or depression .

Very often, the burned oral mucosa is considered exclusively as one of the symptoms of systemic diseases, especially those affecting the nervous system, and through local irritants, glossodynia manifests itself and increases discomfort, leading to relapse.

Diagnosis and treatment of glossalgia

Diagnosis consists of a thorough history taking and examination of the oral cavity. If necessary, the doctor may prescribe additional diagnostics: computed tomography.

Treatment:

1. Sanitation of the oral cavity: elimination of carious cavities, removal of damaged teeth, replacement of failed orthopedic structures, grinding of sharp edges of fillings.
2. Periodontal treatment: professional oral hygiene (removal of tartar and plaque).
3. In the absence of teeth: prosthetics on implants, installation of bridges.
4. Prescription of multivitamin complexes.

Important: if there are structures made of dissimilar metals in the oral cavity, replace them with dentures made of one metal alloy.

If necessary, the dentist can refer the patient to a psychotherapist to prescribe antidepressants and tranquilizers. This is relevant when the causes are stress, anxiety, depression, etc.

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Clear signs of glossalgia

The symptoms and general nature of a disease such as glossalgia occur in different ways. Some symptoms extend over long years or months. Therefore, in this case, experts diagnose the disease as periodic or general glossalgia. Although the signs of the initial stage of the disease are not very pronounced, they still intensify over time. Due to this, experts identify a systematic series of symptoms of glossalgia, which include:

• tingling, rawness, burning sensation in the tongue area. These unpleasant sensations are both periodic and permanent. The intensity of pain increases when eating spicy food and under the influence of some other external irritants;
• constant dry mouth;
• bulimia, which can progress if treatment for glossalgia is delayed for any reason;
• nutritional increase in body weight, due to the fact that glossalgia disappears for a short time after eating, so patients resort to eating immediately after the pain disappears;
• fatigue during a conversation.
• burning and discomfort on the lateral areas of the tongue or on the root and back of the organ;
• slight swelling;
• plaque on the mucous membrane of the tongue;
• phlebeurysm.

As noted earlier, glossalgia does not have a clearly defined lesion, so the location of the unpleasant sensations may vary. Sometimes glossalgia goes away on its own, but more often patients still require medical attention. After all, as such, changes in the oral cavity and mucous membrane of the tongue are completely absent. However, glossalgia can be diagnosed by some indirect signs. Especially when a patient with glossalgia often begins to become depressed and suffers from excessive excitability, anxiety, suspiciousness, and sometimes autism. At this moment, the patient can pay increased attention to detail, delving into the specifics of his condition. He easily loses his temper and becomes aggressive over the most insignificant reasons. In addition, a patient with glossalgia may suffer from cancerophobia or fear of other serious diseases. Also, the symptoms of glossalgia are aggravated by a neurotic state, which leads to sleep disturbances, cardialgia, and spastic colitis. At the same time, due to changes in mental state, the patient most often refuses the help of doctors or treats glossalgia with folk remedies, which often leads to serious consequences and complications.

Prevention of tongue diseases

To prevent the development of tongue pathologies, it is important to promptly engage in the prevention of oral diseases. It consists of:

• professional hygiene: removal of dental plaque;
• selection of household hygiene products (brushes, pastes, floss, tongue scrapers, rinses);
• elimination of sharp edges of fillings and failed prostheses.

Regular professional and home hygiene will help maintain the health of your teeth and entire oral cavity.

Classification

With neurogenic development factors, burning pain syndrome is called glossodynia . It is an organic pathology of the nervous system and is usually caused by neuralgia , neuropathies of the lingual or glossopharyngeal nerve , ganglionitis of the submandibular or sublingual autonomic node , irritation of pain from the cervical part of the autonomic trunk or functional pathology with sympathalgia , a paresthetic sensory phenomenon against the background of bulbar disorders.

Glossodynia is more common in women over 30. Depending on the form and location of paresthesia, they are distinguished:

• mucosal glossopharyngeal form of glossodynia - concentrated on the root of the tongue, pharynx and cervical region of the esophagus;
• dermatomucosal form - when not only the oral mucosa is burned, but also the skin of the face.

Glossalgia is a particular manifestation of stomalgia , a disease manifested by constant pain and paresthesia of the mucous membranes and organs of the oral cavity. The burning sensation spreads not only to the tongue, but also to the palate, gums, mucous membranes of the cheeks, and throat.

Answers on questions

Is it possible to cure this disease at home?

It is impossible to cure this pathology with any home remedies. The use of pharmaceutical products without a doctor's prescription leads to complications. It is recommended to contact a dental clinic at the first symptoms.

What are the complications of glossalgia ?

The disease does not have serious complications, but significantly disrupts the patient’s daily life. In some cases, eating becomes difficult, and long conversations tire the patient. Headache and sleep disturbance are also observed. In addition, the disease can become chronic: periodically the discomfort goes away, then returns again. Therefore, treatment should not be delayed.

Main symptoms

The main symptoms, as mentioned earlier, appear either constantly or in outbreaks. Attacks can last from a couple of minutes to several days. Pain with glossalgia is characterized by various terms or comparisons:

• Rawness;
• Numbness;
• Burning;
• Pressure;
• Withdrawal.

In parallel, glossodynia of the tongue can manifest itself:

• Diffuse pain or with a clear boundary on the tongue;
• Is only the surface of the tongue affected or does the sensation spread to adjacent areas;
• Unilateral or bilateral pain;
• Feeling of heaviness, awkwardness, clumsiness, swelling of the tongue;
• Dryness of the mucous membrane of the tongue;
• Distortion of speech due to desire spares him from excess movement - dysarthria, slurred speech.

Since pain usually disappears when eating, such patients always have food with them, which they eat to relieve pain and discomfort. There are practically no other changes in the appearance of the patient’s tongue, except that there may be inexpressive hyperemia, swelling and plaque, as mentioned above. Salivation is also disrupted, in which it either decreases or exceeds the norm.

Patients often attribute some unpleasant sensations to fatigue, exhaustion, long conversations, errors in diet, or tooth extraction.

Possible complications

This disease does not threaten health, but significantly reduces the quality of life.

If you ignore an unpleasant symptom, glossalgia can become chronic. Its symptoms will occur from time to time, exacerbating the unstable psycho-emotional state.

Against the background of pain, anxiety, eating disorders, sleep disorders, nervousness, and phobias can develop.

As the condition worsens, treatment should be carried out not only by the dentist, but also by other specialists - a neurologist, psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

A long-lasting symptom can cause forced dietary restrictions, which can affect the overall health and cause vitamin deficiencies, weight loss, and lack of minerals.

Possible complications include inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity.

For example, a lack of saliva can lead to canker sores.

, and when exposed to unfavorable factors or injuries, the likelihood of
glossitis, gingivitis
and other
ailments
increases.