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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you're concerned about the appearance of your tongue or you have tongue or oral pain, make an appointment with your doctor or dentist. Here's some information to help you get ready for your appointment, and what to expect from your doctor or dentist.
What you can do
Consider preparing a list of questions to ask your doctor or dentist. Some questions you may want to discuss include:
- What is likely causing my symptoms or condition?
- What kinds of tests, if any, do I need?
- What is the best course of action?
- What are the alternatives to the approach you're suggesting?
- Are there any restrictions that I need to follow?
- Should I see a specialist? What will that cost, and will my insurance cover seeing a specialist?
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take home with me?
- What Web sites do you recommend visiting?
Don't hesitate to ask other questions during your appointment at any time if you don't understand something.
What to expect from your doctor or dentist
Your doctor or dentist may ask you questions about your symptoms. He or she may ask:
- When did you first begin experiencing symptoms?
- Have your symptoms been continuous or occasional?
- How severe are your symptoms?
- What, if anything, seems to improve your symptoms?
- What, if anything, seems to worsen your symptoms?
- Shulman JD, et al. Prevalence and risk factors associated with geographic tongue among U.S. adults. Oral Diseases. 2006;12:381-386.
- Assimakopoulos D, et al. Benign migratory glossitis or geographic tongue: An enigmatic oral lesion. American Journal of Medicine. 2002;113:751-755.
- Jainkittivong A, et al. Geographic tongue: Clinical characteristics of 188 cases. The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice. 2005;6(1):123-135.
- Gonsalves W, et al. Common oral lesions: Part I. Superficial mucosal lesions. American Family Physician. 2007;75:501-507.
