You aren’t alone if you’ve ever felt a hard bump on your tongue and discovered that it looks quite a bit like a pimple. However, since actual pimples require a collection of dirt and oil to collect in pores, you can rest easy it’s not a pimple. There are numerous reasons that these hard bumps may form on your tongue, with the majority being minor and not requiring any treatment to address. However, understanding where these bumps come from may make it easier to avoid them if they’re common for you. The team at Dickey Dental will help you find the source of your tongue bumps and help you take action to prevent or address them.
Where Do These Pimples On The Tongue Come From?
The most frequent source of swollen bumps on the tongue is referred to as “lie bumps.” There are multiple reasons they can form, but the simplest explanation is irritation or inflammation occurring within the tongue. In the majority of cases, you’ll notice that these bumps are red or white in color. Many things can cause these lie bumps, but overindulgence in spicy food is the most common reason. It’s also possible for them to result from biting your tongue. The good news is they will gradually fade on their own within a week or two in both of these cases. So no additional treatment will be necessary. However, there are other reasons that these bumps may form:
- Enlarged Papillae – The texture of your tongue’s surface comes from the thousands of individual bumps forming the top layer of your tongue. They serve multiple purposes, from aiding in gripping food while you’re eating it to housing your taste buds. These individual papillae can become inflamed for multiple reasons, some of which were mentioned earlier. This enlargement is the source of the lie bumps mentioned earlier. Allergies, spicy food, and biting your tongue are all reasons they may appear.
- Canker Sores – This cause of sores on the tongue impact millions of dental patients each year. They appear as angry red bumps on the cheek, tongue, or gums. They can be quite uncomfortable when stimulated and are often the result of stress, irritation of the tongue, allergies, or a deficiency in Vitamin B.
- Oral Cancer – The rarest but most worrying cause of these bumps is oral cancer. These bumps can be discerned from other variations by the fact that they do not fade within two weeks. While this is not a guaranteed indicator, it does indicate that you need to come in to see our professional dental team ASAP.
One other reason you may experience a bump on your tongue is infection. In these cases, you’ll also experience a fever and swollen glands as your body fights the infection. You’ll want to see a member of our team as soon as possible to address this concern.
Call us Today To Get Started With Dickey Dental
If you’re looking for a new home for dentistry that will answer your questions and set your mind at ease, call us at (803) 329-2126. We’ll schedule an appointment with our team and help you understand your most concerning oral health worries.
