Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesSymptomsDiagnosisTreatmentPrevention
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prevention
This article will go over the causes of white spots in your mouth, how to find out why you have them, and how to get rid of them and keep them from coming back.
Verywell / Laura Porter
Causes of White Patches in the Mouth
There are many reasons that white patches can develop in the mouth. Some of these causes are common and easy to treat on your own, but others are more serious.
Leukoplakia
The term “leukoplakia” literally means “white patch” (leukomeans white andplakiameans patch).
Two main types of leukoplakia are:
According to the Cleveland Clinic, once leukoplakia develops, 3% to 17.5% of people will go on to be diagnosed with a common type of skin cancer calledsquamous cell carcinomawithin 15 years.
What Is Leukoplakia?
Lifestyle Factors
Sometimes, seeing white spots in your mouth isn’t related to a health problem and is just related to something about your lifestyle.
For example:
Serious Viral Infection
A condition calledoral hairy leukoplakiais when a person with a weak immune system gets “hairy-looking” white patches on the tongue or other areas of their mouth.
Oral hairy leukoplakia is associated with theEpstein-Barr virusandhuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
This type of leukoplakia is present throughout a person’s lifetime.
How HIV Can Affect the Tongue
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
In addition to HIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can cause white spots in the mouth.
For example,human papillomavirus(HPV) is a common STI that can cause mouth sores. Herpes virus can also cause white spots in or around the mouth.
Oral Lichen Planus
Oral lichen planusis a chronic inflammatory condition of the mucous membranes inside the mouth.
These white spots in the mouth can look also look red. They often have a lacy appearance or can show up as red inflamed open sours.
Other symptoms of oral lichen plants are:
Oral Thrush
The symptoms of oral thrush include white patches that can also look like a white coating of the mouth. Thrush can also cause redness and burning of the mouth.
Canker Sores
Acanker soreis a single, large white patch in the mouth. It can look red around the white area of the patch.
There are several causes of canker sores, including irritation from food or drink, tobacco use, injuries from accidentally biting the cheek or lip, and other causes.
Canker sores are usually painful but tend to heal on their own without a problem.
Underlying Health Conditions
Some health conditions that don’t have to do with your mouth can actually have white spots or sores in your mouth as a symptom.
How to Manage Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS)
Mouth Cancer
There are several factors that link white spots in the mouth to cancer, such as:
White spots in the mouth that are leukoplakia are defined as:
Symptoms that are linked with other causes of white spots in the mouth include:
When to See a ProviderWhite spots in the mouth are most often temporary, harmless, and easily treated. However, they can also have more serious causes.If you see a white patch in your mouth that cannot be wiped off and does not go away after a few days, or you have white spots in your mouth along with other symptoms that are worrying you, make an appointment to see a dentist or your provider.
When to See a Provider
White spots in the mouth are most often temporary, harmless, and easily treated. However, they can also have more serious causes.If you see a white patch in your mouth that cannot be wiped off and does not go away after a few days, or you have white spots in your mouth along with other symptoms that are worrying you, make an appointment to see a dentist or your provider.
White spots in the mouth are most often temporary, harmless, and easily treated. However, they can also have more serious causes.
If you see a white patch in your mouth that cannot be wiped off and does not go away after a few days, or you have white spots in your mouth along with other symptoms that are worrying you, make an appointment to see a dentist or your provider.
What Causes White Tongue?
Often the first time white spots in the mouth are noticed is when a person goes to the dentist or has a routine visit with their primary care provider.
With leukoplakia, the white spots in the mouth are the only sign or symptom so it’s easy to overlook.
A provider will want to rule out specific causes of white spots in the mouth like:
If the biopsy does not lead to a diagnosis, your provider might conclude that the white spots are leukoplakia and recommend treatment to help lower the chances of them becoming cancerous.
If your dentist is the first to notice the white spots in your mouth, they might want you to see your provider for a diagnosis.
White spots in your mouth will often go away once you remove the cause—for example, when you stop using tobacco.
That said, it can still take weeks or months for white spots to clear up depending on what’s causing them.
Possible treatments for white spots in your mouth include:
You can’t always prevent white spots in your mouth but there are some steps you can take to make them less likely to pop up and stick around:
Know that even with treatment and prevention, the white spots may come back, depending on what caused them.
Summary
However, if you have white spots in your mouth along with other symptoms, it’s important to talk to your provider. Causes like STIs, underlying health conditions, and cancer need to be diagnosed and treated.
Taking care of your overall health—but especially your oral health—can help prevent white spots in your mouth and keep them from coming back once you clear them up.
4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Cleveland Clinic.Leukoplakia.Carrard V, van der Waal I.A clinical diagnosis of oral leukoplakia; A guide for dentists.Med Oral.:0-0. doi:10.4317/medoral.22292University of Florida.Leukoplakia.Kuribayashi Y, Tsushima F, Morita K, et al.Long-term outcome of non-surgical treatment in patients with oral leukoplakia.Oral Oncology. 2015;51(11):1020-1025. doi:10.1016/j.oraloncology.2015.09.004
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Cleveland Clinic.Leukoplakia.Carrard V, van der Waal I.A clinical diagnosis of oral leukoplakia; A guide for dentists.Med Oral.:0-0. doi:10.4317/medoral.22292University of Florida.Leukoplakia.Kuribayashi Y, Tsushima F, Morita K, et al.Long-term outcome of non-surgical treatment in patients with oral leukoplakia.Oral Oncology. 2015;51(11):1020-1025. doi:10.1016/j.oraloncology.2015.09.004
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Cleveland Clinic.Leukoplakia.Carrard V, van der Waal I.A clinical diagnosis of oral leukoplakia; A guide for dentists.Med Oral.:0-0. doi:10.4317/medoral.22292University of Florida.Leukoplakia.Kuribayashi Y, Tsushima F, Morita K, et al.Long-term outcome of non-surgical treatment in patients with oral leukoplakia.Oral Oncology. 2015;51(11):1020-1025. doi:10.1016/j.oraloncology.2015.09.004
Cleveland Clinic.Leukoplakia.
Carrard V, van der Waal I.A clinical diagnosis of oral leukoplakia; A guide for dentists.Med Oral.:0-0. doi:10.4317/medoral.22292
University of Florida.Leukoplakia.
Kuribayashi Y, Tsushima F, Morita K, et al.Long-term outcome of non-surgical treatment in patients with oral leukoplakia.Oral Oncology. 2015;51(11):1020-1025. doi:10.1016/j.oraloncology.2015.09.004
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