My BEST Dentists Journal

All Journal Entries
Share

My Baby Has A White Tongue: Is It Oral Thrush?

Two conditions that cause a baby’s tongue to appear white are oral thrush and milk residue. Both are common and can create a thick, white coating on the tongue resembling cottage cheese. Neither condition is serious in healthy infants—although thrush can cause some irritation. Both are highly treatable.

Other oral conditions, such as Epstein pearls (tiny, harmless cysts that are usually white or yellow in appearance), are also common in babies, but these typically appear on the gums or roof of the mouth and not the tongue.

Oral Thrush

Oral thrush can affect anyone, but it’s most common in very young babies from about 1 month to 9 months of age. Research indicates it affects between up to 37% of infants in the first month of life, occurring equally in females and males and those born vaginally or through cesarean section.

Oral thrush, which occurs in both breastfed and bottle-fed babies, generally appears on the parts of the mouth involved with sucking, including the tongue, outer corners of the mouth, and inner lips and gums.

Causes

Thrush is a yeast infection most often caused by Candida albicans, a naturally occurring fungus present in the gut and mouth. In most cases, our body’s immune system keeps the yeast from growing out of control. But babies have immature immune systems, making them more susceptible to infections from fungi and bacteria.

What’s more, the mouth—with the dark, warm, moist environment that yeast favors—is the perfect place for Candida albicans to take up residence and flourish.

Babies can also develop oral thrush if they’re delivered vaginally to a mom with an active yeast infection or if they’re given antibiotics or steroids, which can kill some of the body’s good bacteria that keep yeast in check along with the disease-causing bad bacteria.

Symptoms

Oral thrush usually appears as creamy, white, slightly raised bumps on the: Tongue, Inner lips, Gums, Roof of mouth, Back of throat.

These bumps can sometimes merge, giving the appearance of a white—sometimes yellowish—coating in the mouth.

A baby with thrush may also have cracks in the corners of the mouth and can be irritable, especially when trying to feed. The patches can make sucking and swallowing uncomfortable—although many babies won’t experience any discomfort. Thrush can’t be scraped or wiped away and may bleed slightly if you try. 

Treatment

Your baby’s doctor can often diagnose oral thrush just by looking in your baby’s mouth. Treatment will depend on severity:

Mild cases that don’t seem to be affecting your baby’s feeding may not need any treatment at all and will go away in a week or two.

Moderate to severe cases need treatment, usually with an antifungal medication like nystatin, which is applied directly to the white patches using an applicator (or via drops) several times a day. 

Prolonged sucking can irritate an already sore mouth. You may try these tactics: If you’re breastfeeding, limit feeding to 20 minutes per feeding, If you’re bottle-feeding and your baby is resisting, try feeding with a dropper, If your baby takes a pacifier, use it sparingly.

Oral thrush usually improves with treatment in four to five days. Call your doctor, however, if your baby: Isn’t eating well, Is particularly fussy, Develops a fever.

Milk Residue (Milk Tongue)

Not every white coating on the tongue is thrush. Sometimes it’s something completely innocuous, like what stays clinging to the tongue after a baby nurses or is given a bottle.

(03/31/2021)
by VeryWell Health

More Information: https://www.verywellhealth.com/white-tongue-on-baby-5112625

Views: 356
Share


My BEST Dentists Journal Headlines