ISPUB.COM The Internet Journal of Nutrition and Wellness Volume 10 Number 1 1 of 4 Fissured Tongue: A Case Report and Review of Literature M Rathee, A Hooda, A Kumar Citation M Rathee, A Hooda, A Kumar. Fissured Tongue: A Case Report and Review of Literature. The Internet Journal of Nutrition and Wellness. 2009 Volume 10 Number 1. Abstract Fissured tongue is a benign condition characterized by numerous shallow to deep grooves or furrows on the dorsal surface of the tongue. Aging, malnutrition and local factors such as infection and may contribute to its development and symptoms. Fissured tongue may have a familial occurrence and can be associated with certain underlying syndromes. A case of a 50 years female with fissured tongue along with a review of literature is being presented. INTRODUCTION Patients with fissured tongue may present with multiple grooves, or furrows on the dorsal surface tongue ranging from 2 to 6 mm in depth. The condition is usually asymptomatic unless debris is entrapped within fissure. Patients may also present with complains of burning and soreness in tongue. The mucosa of the dorsal surface of the tongue has filiform papillae, the hairs of which may shelter the superficial epithelial cells from the mechanical stress. 1 This mechanical protection of tongue mucosa is lowered in fissured tongue in the absence of hairs, keratin and keratohyaline granules and may contribute to inflammation. 2 A case of fissured tongue is being reported, etiologic factors and management of this entity are discussed. CASE REPORT A 50 year old female from the rural area with poor socioeconomic background presented in the dental outpatient department with one month history of mild pain and burning sensation on the tongue which aggravated on intake of citrus and spicy foods. She also complained of discomfort during chewing and malodor. Medical and family history were non- contributory. General clinical examination demonstrated the patient was normal except for mild anemia. Extra-oral examination revealed normal facial morphology, no skin lesions were seen. Intra-oral examination revealed poor oral hygiene, halitosis and deeply grooved lesions on the dorsal surface of the tongue with entrapped food debris. Flushing was done on the tongue surface with diluted povodine-iodine solution which revealed numerous prominent fissures covering the entire dorsal surface and dividing the tongue papillae into multiple separate lobules. (Fig 1) No other tongue lesion or associated syndrome was observed. Figure 1 Fig 1: Showing fissured tongue Routine blood investigation revealed mild anemia. Nutrition education and diet modification was advised. The patient was put on oral iron therapy. Patient was advised to maintain the lingual hygiene by 10 times stroking the tongue with soft tooth brush after meals and bedtime supplemented with mouthwash (0.2% solution w/v of Chlorhexidine gluconate) prescribed to swish and spit with 10 ml twice daily for one minute and to strictly adhere to the oral hygiene instructions. Patient had symptomatic improvement with the treatment. DISCUSSION Fissured tongue is a common variant of the tongue that has numerous grooves or fissures on the dorsum of the tongue 3 .