What is the cause of the condition black hairy tongue?”
Black, hairy tongue is a temporary, harmless (benign) oral condition that gives your tongue a dark, furry appearance. The distinct look of black, hairy tongue usually results from an overgrowth of bacteria in the mouth. Although black, hairy tongue may look alarming, it doesn’t cause any health problems. Black, hairy tongue usually resolves without medical treatment.
Black hairy tongue refers to a number of conditions of humans and animals that cause the tongue to become unusually dark and/or hairy in appearance. Hairy tongue (lingua villosa) is a common condition caused by defective desquamation of the filiform papillae that results from a variety of precipitating factors. Some of these factors include poor oral hygiene, tooth loss (because a soft diet does not allow for normal desquamation from rough food scraping the tongue), chronic or extensive use of antibiotics, and radiation treatments to the head and neck. Patients with hairy tongue are more often than not coffee or tea drinkers and often use tobacco.[citation needed] It is also commonly seen in patients who are HIV positive or use intravenous drugs, although there is no predictive value to the finding of hairy tongue.[citation needed] One would assume that it is the result of shared lifestyle habits such as poor oral hygiene, use of tobacco, coffee drinking, etc.[citation needed] Hairy to
Black hairy tongue in humans is a harmless condition caused by a fungus which grows on the top surface of the tongue. It is associated with the elderly, as well as with antibiotic use. It is more commonly seen in tobacco smokers. While black is the most common color associated with the condition other colors are also possible.
