• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.131-137
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• 2017

Black hairy tongue is a benign medical condition, which is characterized by elongated filiform lingual papillae, with a typical carpet-like appearance on the dorsum of the tongue. We describe the case of a 70-year-old Korean female with black hairy tongue, who complained of black hairy tongue accompanied by xerostomia. The patient was treated with Jibaekjihwang-tang-gagambang and electric acupuncture for 13 days. Black hairy tongue was evaluated by its visual appearance and by calculating hue-saturation-brightness (HSB) and red-green-blue (RGB) values of images of the tongue using a photo-edit program. Salivary flow rate (SFR) was evaluated to evaluate oral dryness. After 13 days of treatment, the black fur disappeared, and the brightness and RGB values of the black fur increased. In addition, the SFR increased. We conclude that Korean medicine could be the treatment choice for black hairy tongue.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.97-101
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• 2013

Hairy tongue is a disease caused by hypertrophy of filiform papillae on the tongue dorsum. Clinically, it occurs on the posterior 1/3 of the tongue dorsum and is rarely observed on the lateral and tip of the tongue. Several types of colored pigmentation from white to brown and black appear depending on the ingested food and the existing pigmentation inducing bacteria. Although clinically asymptomatic, patients will visit the clinic for esthetic problems and at rare intervals experience nausea, halitosis, dysgeusia and unpleasant sensation. The exact etiology is yet not known but causes such as inappropriate oral hygiene control, a shift in oral bacterium, infection, radiotherapy, use of antibacterial drugs or immunosuppressants, excessive smoking or alcohol drinking and decrease of salivary flow rate may be a factor of the disease. Clinical symptoms are quite typical and diagnosis may be made simply by observation, not necessarily biopsy. Treatment of hairy tongue is done by eliminating the etiology factors, brushing the tongue gently with a tongue cleaner and in some cases using keratolytic agent. Although it is rare to treat hairy tongue surgically, we will introduce a case successfully treated using carbondioxide laser($CO_2$ laser), after no sufficient improvement had been made by conservative treatment.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.79-81
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• 2015

Oral hairy leukoplakia occurs on the lateral surface of the tongue that clinically as an asymptomatic white lesion. It is mainly found in patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection. However, it rarely outbreak immunosuppressed patients after organ transplantation, or the patients taking steroids or immunosuppressants. It is the result of proliferating Epstein-Barr virus in the oral epithelium. Most of human immunodeficiency virus infected patients with oral hairy leukoplakia are highly contagious and possible to progress acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Therefore, the early diagnosis of oral hairy leukoplakia is very important. Taking a thorough history and human immunodeficiency virus screening test is highly recommended in case oral hairy leukoplakia is detected. In this case, a 29-year-old man presented with whitish lesion on lateral border of tongue is diagnosed as oral hairy leukoplakia and human immunodeficiency virus infection.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.49-58
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• 2017

Objectives : To introduce a rare case of a patient with Progressive Bulbar Palsy (PBP) and suggest the possibility of treatment using electroacupuncture and Korean Medicine. Methods : A 61-year-old man with PBP, complaining of dysarthria, was treated with electroacupuncture and Korean Medicine, from June 16 to July 10, 2015. Improvements in symptoms were measured using the speech mechanism screening test (SMST), measurement of tongue and orbicularis oris motility, and speech handicap index (SHI). Results : The scores of SMST, motility of tongue and orbicularis oris showed a tendency for gradual improvement with 25 days of Korean Medicine Treatment after admission, but conversation was still impossible. In SHI scores, one point increased in the speech domain and one point decreased in the psycho-social domain, and three points increased in the other domain. Conclusion : Electroacupuncture and Korean Medicine Treatment improved dysarthria caused by PBP, but not completely. Korean Medicine Treatment seems effective in the management of accompanying symptoms such as black hairy tongue, dry mouth, and general condition. The symptoms of PBP are similar to those of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and there is controversy regarding the classification of PBP. The most important aspect of treating a patient with PBP is an early diagnosis and devising appropriate rehabilitation strategies.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.252-259
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• 2004

Objectives : Halitosis is a common human condition, exact pathophysiological mechanisms of which are unclear. This study, which investigates halitosis patients' characteristics and their related factors, was done with intent to establish a foundation for the Oriental Medical treatment of halitosis. Methods : 329 patients were surveyed by reviewing medical charts and questionnaires from the East-West Halitosis Clinic of Kyunghee Medical Center from May 1, 2001 to December 31, 2002. Sex, age, illness duration, coating on the tongue, postnasal drip, globus pharyngeus, indigestion, condition of feces, halimeter measurements and results of the salivary scans were analyzed. Results : The thick and yellowish coating on the tongue was not a major cause of halitosis in the patients studied. Among the halitosis patients, 21.6% complained of postnasal drip, 15.6% of globus pharyngeus, 37.4% of indigestion, and 23.8% of diarrhea or constipation, suggesting the possibility of extra-oral origin in oral malodor. Conclusions : This study suggests that, when treating halitosis patients, intra-oral causes of halitosis aside, Oriental Medical treatments such as solving qi-stasis(氣鬱), augmenting deficiency of the spleen qi(碑氣虛) and treating gastric fever(胃熱) constitute effective management for oral malodor patients.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.65-70
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• 2024

This paper highlights the importance of oral manifestations as indicators for early human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) detection through two case studies. HIV, responsible for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), damages CD4+ T-lymphocytes, leading to severe immunosuppression and increased vulnerability to various infections. Oral lesions often appear early in HIV infection and can signal disease progression. The study underscores the role of dentists in identifying these lesions, which can serve as crucial markers for HIV. We used two cases to illustrate the importance of screening in HIV patients. The first was a patient presented with oral soreness and a mass on his tongue. Despite having a positive HIV test result in a previous medical examination, but patient had intentionally concealed his infection. The second was a patient experienced dry mouth and burning sensation, with symptoms unresponsive to repeated antifungal treatments and suspected esophageal fungal infection. This led to the discovery of an HIV-positive status in a patient previously unaware of his infection. In both cases, oral manifestations played a crucial role in the early diagnosis of HIV/AIDS. These manifestations can be particularly useful for identifying HIV in patients who are asymptomatic or unaware of their status. Although oral lesions, such as oral candidiasis and oral hairy leukoplakia, are not exclusive to HIV but are more prevalent and severe in HIV-positive individuals. The findings support routine HIV screening and the critical role of dentists in recognizing oral signs of HIV infection to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.757-762
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• 2014

Smoking is recognized as a health problem worldwide and there is an established tobacco epidemic in Saudi Arabia as in many other countries, with tobacco users at increased risk of developing many diseases. This cross sectional study was conducted to assess the prevalence of oral mucosal, potentially malignant or malignant, lesions associated with tobacco use among a stratified cluster sample of adults in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A sample size of 599 was collected and each participant underwent clinical conventional oral examination and filled a questionnaire providing information on demographics, tobacco use and other relevant habits. The most common form of tobacco used was cigarette smoking (65.6 %) followed by Shisha or Moasel (38.1%), while chewing tobacco, betel nuts and gat accounted for 21-2%, 7.7%, and 5% respectively. A high prevalence (88.8%) of soft tissue lesions was found among the tobacco users examined, and a wide range of lesions were detected, about 50% having hairy tongue, 36% smoker's melanosis, 28.9% stomatitis nicotina, 27% frictional keratosis, 26.7% fissured tongue, 26% gingival or periodontal inflammation and finally 20% leukodema. Suspicious potentially malignant lesions affected 10.5% of the subjects, most prevalent being keratosis (6.3%), leukoplakia (2.3%), erythroplakia (0.7%), oral submucous fibrosis (0.5%) and lichenoid lesions (0.4%), these being associated with male gender, lower level of education, presence of diabetes and a chewing tobacco habit. It is concluded that smoking was associated with a wide range of oral mucosal lesions, those suspicious for malignancy being linked with chewable forms, indicating serious effects.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2001

To investigate the relationship between several intraoral soft tissue lesions(hairy tongue, lichen planus, recurrent aphthous stomatitis, oral candidiasis, glossitis and oral herpetic lesion) and oral mucosal keratinization, exfoliative cytological smear on intraoral mucosal surfaces were performed on each number of patients and 25 controls keratinization cell (yellow-stained cell) ratio was then measured. In hairy tongue, there was no significant difference between patient group and control group in all kind of cells. Only blue cell ratio of women was more than of men in patient group. In lichen planus, there was no difference between patient and control group in yellow cell ratio. Red cell ratio in the control group was more than in the patient group. Blue cell ratio in the patient group was more than that in control group. But there was no sex predilection between both groups in the ratio of all kind of cells. In recurrent aphthous stomatitis, Yellow cell ratio in the control group was more than that in the patient group. Red cell ratio in the control group was more than that in control group. Blue cell ratio in the patient group was more than that in control group. But there was no sex predilection between both groups in the ratio of all kind of cells. In oral candidiasis, Yellow cell ratio in the control group was more than that in the patient group. Red cell ratio in the control group was more than that in control group. Blue cell ratio in the patient group was more than that in control group. There was no sex predilection between both groups in yellow cell ratio. Red cell ratio of women was more than of men in patient group. Blue cell ratio of men was more than of women in patient group. In herpetic lesions, there was no difference between patient and control group in yellow cell ratio. Red cell ratio in the control group was more than in the patient group. Blue cell ratio in the patient group was more than that in control group. Yellow cell ratio of women was more than of men in control group. Red cell ratio of men was more than of women in control group. Blue cell ratio of men was more than of women in patient group. In glossitis, Yellow cell ratio in the control group was more than in the patient group. There was no difference between patient and control group in red cell ratio. Blue cell ratio in the patient group was more than that in control group. Yellow cell ratio of women was more than of men in control group. Red cell ratio and blue cell ratio of men were more than of women in control group. According to above results, the ratio of keratinized cell in atrophic, ulcerated, or pseudomembranous lesions was lowered than in control, but the ratio of keratinized cell in keratotic, vesicular or lesions on keratinized surface lesions had no difference to control group. Thus, keratotic, vesicular or lesions on keratinized surface lesions have not closely relation to mucosal keratinization. And, there was a little sex predilection between men and wemen in mucosal keratinization.