Median rhomboid glossitis caused by tongue-brushing

Abstract

A previously healthy 57-year-old woman presented to the hospital with a month-long history of painful sensations in the tongue. She was not a smoker. She did not use any prosthesis contacting the palate and was not in the habit of holding any food or material on the tongue. She had started vigorous brushing of the tongue 1 month earlier because her child had told her that she had halitosis. She had not received any treatment before she came to the hospital. Physical examination revealed a plaque of smooth, erythematous, and well-circumscribed papillary atrophy on the dorsal midline of the tongue (Figure 1A). There were no lesions or infl ammation on the hard palate. Laboratory tests were normal and testing for candidal infection was negative for yeast-like fungi. A clinical diagnosis of median rhomboid glossitis was made. The patient was advised to stop brushing her tongue, and at a follow-up visit 1 month later, her symptoms and the lesion had improved (Figure 1B), and no further evaluation was warranted.