Hellobee Boards

Is it just one white spot? A bump? Flat?

My tongue is covered in white patches....it's been like that my whole life. My dentist told me it's "geographic tongue". The spots change. It's really weird.

I'm not a dentist but my parents are/were and I'm pretty sure they are worried about oral cancer. My mom found weird spots on a patient once and ended up saving her life. That said, it only happened once in her 30+ year career. I know it stinks but if the dentist is worried, I'd probably make the appointment just to be safe.

Btw, I have geographic tongue too which is very weird looking. Dentists are familiar with this though, so they wouldn't send you to an oral surgeon for that.

It's probably an area you bit and a sort of "cover your ass" referral (I do this). Technically, any white area that hasn't gone away in two weeks should be biopsied. you are probably at a low risk of oral cancer, but white spots can also indicate signs of autoimmune disorders which you would be at a higher risk for, given that I assume you are female and over the age of 20. I usually do a Recheck to see if the spot is in there two weeks later, and if so, I refer.

I am a general dentist in private practice, btw.