Will scalloped tongue heal on its own?

Tooth-marked tongue refers to the edge of the tongue where obvious tooth marks can be seen. This is mostly caused by compression due to an enlarged tongue. It is not untreatable clinically, but requires treatment. The incidence of this disease is relatively high at present, and it is closely related to many diseases. Let us look at how to deal with it.

Will scalloped tongue heal on its own?

Tooth-marked tongue refers to the tongue with traces of teeth on the edge, also known as tooth-imprint tongue. It is mostly caused by an enlarged tongue being compressed by the edge of the teeth. It is a type of abnormal tongue shape and has great guiding significance for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

It is easy to identify in tongue diagnosis and is less affected by external factors (such as food, medicine, etc.). Traditional Chinese medicine believes that tongue with scallop marks is mostly caused by qi deficiency, spleen deficiency or yang deficiency. Since spleen deficiency cannot transport and transform water and dampness, the tongue becomes enlarged. Therefore, tongue with scallop marks is mainly caused by spleen deficiency and excessive dampness. If it is pale white and moist, it means that cold and dampness are excessive; if it is pale red with tooth marks, it is mostly due to spleen deficiency or qi deficiency.

At present , there are few reports by domestic scholars on the relationship between tooth-marked tongue and syndromes. Zhang divided 77 patients with Qi deficiency into heart and lung Qi deficiency group, spleen and stomach Qi deficiency group, and kidney Qi deficiency group according to the three energizers and the dominant Qi deficiency in the internal organs. The results showed that the characteristics of Qi deficiency syndrome on the tongue are fatness and tooth marks, which account for more than 2/3 of Qi deficiency patients, among which those with heart and lung Qi deficiency syndrome accounted for 5.65% and 10.0% respectively, which was not only highly statistically significant compared with the control group, but also higher than those with spleen, stomach and kidney Qi deficiency syndromes [9]. Qian et al. investigated 25 patients with scalloped tongue and found that the most common syndrome was qi deficiency, with a total of 285 cases [5]. Research on scalloped tongue and diseases Clinical studies have shown that scalloped tongue can be seen in a variety of diseases. Fan Derong et al. compared the tongue images of 168 gastric cancer patients and 200 healthy people and found that 23.2% of the gastric cancer patients had tongue marks, which was significantly different from that of the healthy people [10]. Xu Wenjun et al. analyzed the tongue images of 326 cancer patients and found that the tongue was most likely to be enlarged with teeth marks. The tongues with enlarged tongues were more common in lung cancer, gastric cancer, esophageal and cardiac cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, and intestinal cancer[11]. A study by the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association on 19 cancer patients with fat tongue, thin tongue, and tongue with tooth marks also showed that most cancer patients had fat tongue and tongue with tooth marks[12]. Chen Weimin et al investigated 204 patients with chronic gastritis and found that pale, fat, tooth-marked tongue and ulcers were more common, accounting for 43.48%[13]. Qiu Weirong et al. summarized and analyzed 300 cases of different upper gastrointestinal diseases and found that among inflammatory lesions, the pale tongue and pale fat tooth-marked tongue in superficial atrophic gastritis and atrophic gastritis were 41.4% and 36.7%, respectively, while the pale tongue and pale fat tooth-marked tongue in superficial gastritis were 22.2%, with significant differences between the two (P<0.01). Among peptic ulcer diseases, duodenal bulb ulcers are most often characterized by pale tongue and pale, fat teeth marks, accounting for 6.8%[14]. Meng Zhihong's clinical observation of tongue images in 137 patients with aplastic anemia showed that the incidence of enlarged tongue (16.79%) and tooth-marked tongue (29.93%) in patients with aplastic anemia was significantly higher than that in the control group [15].

In addition, Fei Haiqi observed tooth marks on the tongue of 101 hypertensive patients and found that the incidence of tooth marks in the hypertensive group was as high as 42.29%, which was significantly different from that in the control group (20.5%) (P < 0.001)[16]. This seems to contradict the view of some foreign scholars that tooth-marked tongue is more common in people with low blood pressure, and further verification is needed. Qian Xinru investigated and analyzed 425 patients with scalloped tongue and summarized the diseases with a higher incidence of scalloped tongue as follows: (1) Decreased pH value of body fluids, such as renal tubular acidosis and kidney stones; (2) Renal dysfunction and water and sodium retention, such as kidney transplantation, glomerular disease, systemic lupus erythematosus. For example, water accumulation caused by kidney stones can also affect renal function; (3) Diseases with increased globulin due to immune dysfunction, such as kidney transplantation, systemic lupus erythematosus, thyroid disease, glomerular disease, liver disease, myocardial disease, pericardial and pleural disease, etc.; (4) Anemic diseases, such as iron deficiency anemia, pregnancy and postpartum period, and gynecological diseases; (5) Diseases with reduced immune function, such as leukemia and tumors [6]. Japanese scholar Mutsuhiro Muramatsu believes that people with scalloped tongue mainly suffer from so-called chronic diseases of adults, such as chronic gastritis, diabetes, hypotension, pollinosis, chronic hepatitis, knee joint edema, and menopausal disorders[7].

Closely related to the epidemiological study of spur-marked tongue, Hui Benyuan conducted a questionnaire survey on the diet, living habits, symptoms, etc. of 318 patients with spur-marked tongue and found that the incidence of spur-marked tongue was low among those who like to eat salty food. Regular consumption of Japanese tea can lead to the development of scalloped tongue. However, there was no statistical difference in symptoms related to qi deficiency, such as fatigue, spontaneous sweating, and poor appetite. The main symptoms with statistical significance were belching, heaviness in the stomach, and intestinal rumbling. Therefore, he believes that the relationship between tongue with tooth marks and qi deficiency syndrome is unclear, but the relationship between tongue with tooth marks and dampness is relatively close.