290 Introduction to Anatomy & Physiology Check Your Understanding 1. What are papillae? 2. List three nerves responsible for sending taste sensory signals to the brain. Certain conditions can promote unnatural growth of the gustatory hairs of the tongue, causing the look and feel of a hairy tongue. The most common cause is inadequate oral hygiene, but other causes include use of certain medications, excessive drinking of coffee or tea, frequent tobacco use, or radiation treatments to the head or neck region. Good oral hygiene, including brushing the tongue as well as the teeth, is both a prevention and a cure for hairy tongue (Figure 7.24). Burning mouth syndrome, as the name suggests, involves a sensation of moderate to severe burning in the mouth that may continue for months or even years. When the pain persists, anxiety and depression may develop. Related symptoms may include tingling, numbness, or dryness of the mouth and a bitter or metallic taste. The condition can arise from a variety of causes, including damage to the taste and pain receptors in the mouth, chronically dry mouth, nutritional deficiencies, hormonal changes, acid reflux, and infection in the mouth. Treatment of burning mouth syndrome is based on the cause, so it may involve addressing an underlying disorder with nutritional supplements, hormone therapy, antibiotics, or other remedies. When no underlying cause is apparent, treatment is designed to reduce the pain associated with burning mouth syndrome. Disorders and Infections of the Tongue Etiology Prevention Pathology Diagnosis Treatment Tongue infection bacterial infection following severe biting of the tongue, piercing, or other injury use measures to keep injury site clean and promote healing pain, swelling, fever physical exam antibiotics Hairy tongue inadequate oral hygiene, use of certain medications, excessive drinking of coffee or tea, frequent tobacco use, radiation treatments good oral hygiene, including brushing the tongue and teeth unnatural growth of the gustatory hairs of the tongue physical exam restoration of good oral hygiene Burning mouth syndrome damage to sensory receptors in mouth, persistent dry mouth, nutritional deficiencies, hormonal changes, acid reflux, mouth infection avoid causal factors when possible moderate to severe burning in the mouth, may include tingling, numbness, or dryness of the mouth and a bitter or metallic taste physical exam blood or other tests related to symptoms address causal factors and symptoms Figure 7.23 Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock.com Figure 7.24 This person is using a tongue cleaner to help cure a mild case of hairy tongue. A toothbrush and toothpaste can also be used both to prevent and to cure this disorder. Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.