Prevalence of Geographic Tongue and Its Relation with Food Allergy and Familial History in Patients Referred to Semnan Dental Faculty (2018–2019)

The cause of geographic tongue is unknown and a few studies have been carried out on the associations of this lesion with food allergy. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of geographic tongue and its associations with food allergy and familial history in the patients referred to the Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine Department of Semnan Dental School, Semnan, Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, 936 patients were selected from those with various etiologies, who were referred to the Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine Department of Semnan Dental School, Semnan, Iran, 2018–2019. Information was entered into checklists through existing records, visual examinations and patient inquiries. Inclusion criteria were the absence of psoriasis and absence of other mucosal diseases and exclusion criteria were patients with incomplete records, patients with no records and presence of psoriasis and other mucosal diseases.

In general, 936 patients referred to Semnan Dental Clinic were enrolled in this study; of whom, 8.8% (82 people) were diagnosed with geographic tongue. Risk of geographic tongue in allergic patients was 2.54 times higher than in non-allergic. Women were 2.5 times more affected than men. Age was inversely associated; hence, risk was higher at the early age.

Based on the present study, younger women with food allergies are more likely to have geographic tongue lesions. Therefore, it is recommended to use appropriate non-allergenic diets as well as sensitivity testing to find allergens.