Prevalence of tongue disorders and tongue coating colours among patients with type II diabetes mellitus

Sritama Som; Pushparaja Shetty; Urvashi Shetty

Sritama Som Student of Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), Nitte (Deemed to be University), AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India
Pushparaja Shetty Nitte (Deemed to be University), AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and Oral Microbiology, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India
Urvashi Shetty Nitte (Deemed to be University), AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology and Oral Microbiology, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India

Keywords: tongue coating, diabetes mellitus, non-invasive diagnosis, community health screening, oral-systemic link

Abstract

A coated tongue represents a clinically relevant parameter in the visual diagnosis of systemic conditions. Given that Diabetes Mellitus is among the most prevalent metabolic disorders worldwide, with an especially high burden in India, the early identification of such clinical markers is of substantial importance for timely screening and intervention. The oral cavity mirrors systemic illness, and oral manifestations are associated with diabetes. This study evaluated the prevalence of tongue coating colours and location in type II diabetic patients. Tongue colours were classified according to six categories (Liyan Chen et al.), and coating location assessed using Kojima Parameters. Common tongue abnormalities were also recorded. The study found that pink-coloured coating was most prevalent, followed by yellow and white. Nearly half of the patients showed a thin coating on less than one-third of the back of the tongue. Glossitis and candidiasis were the most frequent abnormalities. These findings highlight the role of tongue examination as a non-invasive method for suspecting diabetes in undiagnosed patients, thereby supporting early screening and treatment.