Powered By
Continue with Facebook
Continue with Email
If you talk to a healthcare provider about sleep apnea, you might be surprised if they ask to look at your tongue. After all, most people don’t associate changes to their tongue with sleep apnea or any other sleep disorder.
While looking at the tongue alone isn’t enough to determine you have sleep apnea, certain changes to that part of your body can contribute to a diagnosis. If your doctor is checking your tongue or you’ve noticed changes to your tongue, and you don’t know what’s going on, here’s what you need to know.
We’ll explain the changes in your tongue that can be connected to sleep apnea, why it happens, and when you should seek medical help.
If you stick out your tongue and notice that it looks wavy, rippled, or like it has indentations around the edges, you may have a scalloped tongue. It happens when your tongue swells and presses up against your teeth. The teeth and the spaces between them are what cause the scallops on your tongue.
The longer your tongue is swollen and pressed against your teeth, the more prominent the ridges can become. This means that the scallops will be easier to see.
You may see mild scalloping, where the indentations on your tongue are barely visible. If you have moderate scalloping, the indents may be more distinct and cover less than half of the sides of the tongue. Or, your scalloping might be more visible and take up more than half of the sides of your tongue.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can cause inflammation and swelling in the tongue, leading to a scalloped tongue. It can lead to fluid buildup in your tongue, forcing it to press against your teeth. This forms the waves that you see when you examine your tongue.
Around 40 percent of people with sleep apnea will also have a scalloped tongue. A scalloped tongue alone isn’t enough to make the diagnosis, though it can point doctors in the right direction. They may need to look at other symptoms and conduct a sleep study to confirm the diagnosis.
Experts don’t know exactly how the tongue is involved in sleep apnea. Having a strong tongue does seem to help keep your airway open while you’re sleeping.
A weak tongue can fall backward into your throat, obstructing your airway, or it can indicate that the surrounding tissues are also weak and may collapse during sleep. Experts don’t know if this contributes or is connected in any way to a scalloped tongue. However, certain tongue exercises can help improve sleep apnea in some people.
Additional symptoms of sleep apnea that you might experience include:
If you have a scalloped tongue and show one or more of these signs of sleep apnea, it’s time to get help from a healthcare professional. They can assess you for sleep apnea and help you get the treatment you need.
A scalloped tongue may not always mean sleep apnea. You may be dealing with one of several other medical issues. These are all common causes of tongue swelling, leading to the ripples you see.
Possible causes of a scalloped tongue include:
If you’re concerned about having a scalloped tongue or you’re not sure why you have one, talk to a healthcare provider. They can help diagnose its underlying cause and develop a treatment plan based on your needs.
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for when to seek medical care for a scalloped tongue. In general, if you often see these ridges on the sides of your tongue, bring it up to a medical professional. It might not be a big deal, but it could mean something is going on with your body that needs treatment, like sleep apnea.
If you notice that you always or often have a scalloped tongue and you also have symptoms of sleep apnea (or any of the other conditions mentioned above), make an appointment to see your doctor right away. This doesn’t mean you need emergency medical care, but it does mean you should see a doctor sooner rather than later to get proper treatment.
If you ever notice any serious tongue swelling, you do need urgent medical care. This is different from having a scalloped tongue. It’s usually caused by an allergic reaction, and it may swell to the point where you can’t breathe.
Treating a scalloped tongue involves addressing the underlying medical condition. Once that’s resolved, your tongue should stop swelling on its own, and the scalloping will go away.
If you have sleep apnea, treatment usually involves lifestyle changes and sleeping on your back. Using a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to help keep your airway open at night may be recommended.
Some people manage sleep apnea by wearing a mouthpiece (oral appliance) at night, changing their sleeping position, having surgery, or using electrical stimulation at night to keep the muscles strong. Your doctor will help you figure out the best treatment for your needs.
If you don’t have sleep apnea, your doctor will treat the condition causing your scalloped tongue. They may prescribe medication or recommend wearing a mouthguard at night to help with bruxism (teeth grinding).
You can also try to reduce further swelling or scalloping at home by:
If these don’t help, talk to your doctor about other options.
On MySleepApneaTeam, people share their experiences with obstructive sleep apnea, get advice, and find support from others who understand.
How has sleep apnea affected your tongue’s shape? Let others know in the comments below.
Get updates directly to your inbox.
Continue with Facebook
Continue with Email
Continue with Facebook
Continue with Email
Become a member to get even more
Join
Your Privacy Choices
This is a member-feature!
Sign up for free to view article comments.
We'd love to hear from you! Please share your name and email to post and read comments.
You'll also get the latest articles directly to your inbox.