What Are Tonsil Stones: A Guide

Acorn Dental Health
Jul 4, 2023
2 min read

What Are Tonsil Stones & How Can You Avoid Them?

Your mouth has plenty of elements in it vital for your body to work. There’s the most notable, the teeth and the tongue, then one most people often forget about. We’re talking about the tonsils of course! Tonsil stones can be a common problem people face, so here at Acorn Dental Health, we have written a little guide to help you with them.

What Are Tonsils?

Humans are born with four types of tonsils: the pharyngeal, two tubal, two palatine and a lingual tonsil. The palatine tonsils tend to develop when you’re a child and reach their largest size in puberty, while the adenoid grows until you’re about five and then shrinks back down. Tonsils can become enlarged or inflamed, which can be treated with drugs or surgery. Normally the medication is used, with surgery undertaken if the tonsils obstruct the airway, interfere with swallowing or if the person has had tonsillitis many times.

Tonsil Stones

Another common issue with your tonsils is tonsil stones. Also known as tonsilloliths, these are hard bits of bacteria and debris that can get stuck in your tonsils. Your tonsils are filled with small nooks and crannies where things can get trapped in. Debris from food, dead cells and mucus can get stuck, and this debris will then bond together. This debris will then calcify, becoming a tonsil tone. They are most often found in people who have repeated cases of tonsillitis or deal with long-term inflammation, but anyone can get one really.

Small tonsil stones may not cause any symptoms, but larger ones can cause bad breath, a sore throat, a cough, white debris, tonsil swelling, trouble swallowing and even ear pain. This is because shared nerve pathways leading to the ear can be affected by tonsil stones. Tonsils can be treated with antibiotics, surgical removal or a tonsillectomy, but you can also treat them at home. Water picks or swabs can remove them, as well as gargling saltwater. Most cases do not require special treatment, and it is only in extreme cases that you’ll even need to worry about tonsil stones. Good dental habits can help to prevent tonsil stones, so make sure you brush and floss regularly to prevent things from becoming stuck. Also ensure you gargle with water after eating, as this will help wash food debris out of your mouth.

Acorn Dental Health: A Reliable Dental Hygienist

Tonsil stones are only one element of your mouth you want to worry about, another is your teeth. If you’re in the Southampton area, Acorn Dental Health offers reliable and professional dental treatments for both adults and children. We have a friendly team of dentists and dental experts who can help you keep your mouth in the best shape possible. Our services include emergency dentistry, implants, crowns, veneers, cosmetic dentistry, teeth whitening and dentures as well as dental hygiene treatments such as cleaning, scaling and polishing.