Enlarged Papillae

What are Enlarged Papillae?

Papillae are small growths that appear on the surface of your tongue naturally. Although all not all papillae contain taste buds the ones found on your tongue do. In fact, the papillae on your tongue are usually called your taste buds. There are many different types of papillae and there are times that they do seem to be enlarged. The four types of papillae that are associated most often with your taste buds and have nerve endings that send messages to your brain about what type of food you are eating.

Enlarged Papillae Types

These four types of papillae are:

Fungiform papillae

On the surface of your tongue they are scattered around but most are located on the sides and apex of your tongue. They have nothing to do with fungus but are all that because of their shape which is the shape of a mushroom. These papillae detect sour and sweet tastes.

Foliate papillae

These papillae are found on the sides of your tongue and have an elongated fold. They are the ones that detect a sour taste

Filiform papillae

These papillae are thin, long, and V-shaped. They are also the type that is the most numerous and give your tongue the abrasive coating. It is the papillae that detect a sour taste.

Circumvallate papillae

These are papillae that detect a bitter taste and can be found in the back part of your tongue, arranged in a V-form that heads toward your throat. On average you will have from ten to fourteen of this type of papillae.

Symptoms

There are no symptoms

Causes of Enlarged Papillae

There are many different reasons that a person would have enlarged papillae which can include:

• Happening naturally as you get older
• Excessively smoking which can cause the tongue to become irritated
• Having canker sores which can appear for no known cause but the canker sores can be more severe if you are under stress a lot.
• GERD
• Having ulcerative colitis
• Having an infection from some type of trauma that can include eating something spicy or hot and scalding your tongue, eating foods that are very acidic, or biting your tongue.

Enlarged Papillae Pictures

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Treatment

Before your enlarge papillae can be treated you will need to know what has caused them so you can use the right treatment. Some of the treatments can include:

• Stop smoking
• Making sure that you are practicing good oral hygiene. When you are brushing and flossing your teeth make sure that you brush your tongue also.
• Eating a diet that is healthy
• Trying to avoid any foods that are too hot, spicy, or acidic
• If you are having pain with your enlarged papillae gargle with salt water or with a mouth rinse to help relieve the pain.
• Being careful when chewing or talking to help prevent biting your tongue
• Having your dentist smooth down your teeth if you have sharp teeth so you will not scratch your tongue causing enlarged papillae
• Increasing your intake of vitamins B 2, 1, 6, and 12 either by eating foods that contain these vitamins, taking vitamin B supplements or a combination of both. Doing this will help you manage any mouth ulcers or cold sores you might have.
• In order to help balance the bacteria in your body you should eat yogurt every day and also increase the amount of dairy products you consume daily.
• Taking an iron supplement daily or eating foods that are natural sources of iron
• If you are wearing dentures make sure that fit your mouth correctly.