The association of geographic tongue and epilepsy

Abstract

Abstract Objectives: Geographic tongue (GT) is enclosed circular plaques with margins of yellowish-white lines. It usually occurs in the anterior two-thirds of the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the tongue. The purpose of this research is to investigate the prevalence of GT and some related factors in Semnan Dental Faculty in 2022. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, the files of 1000 patients were examined in terms of frequency of GT and suspected related factors such as age, sex, smoking, diabetes, epilepsy and seizures, gastrointestinal problems, thyroid problems, blood pressure, liver disease, anemia, cardiovascular disease, and coagulation diseases. Results: 63.6% of patients were women, and 36.4% were men (age range of 15–78 years). 27.7% had at least one systemic disease. 80 (8%) patients had GT, which had a 4.8 times chance of occurrence in patients with epilepsy and seizures with a significant relationship. However, there was no significant relationship between gastrointestinal problems, thyroid problems, blood pressure, diabetes, liver disease, anemia, cardiovascular disease, and coagulation diseases. Conclusion: The relationship between GT and epilepsy and seizures shows the need for periodic examinations of the mouth and especially the tongue by dentists to help in the timely diagnosis of systemic diseases.