What are tonsil stones?
Tonsil stones are called tonsil stones because they are located on and in the tonsils. In technical language, palatine tonsils are called tonsillae palatinae. You can usually easily recognize tonsil stones by the white dots a few millimetres in size that appear on your tonsils.
The stones are unpleasant because they can cause foul breath. The practical thing about tonsil stones is that you can usually remove them yourself. But since they tend to keep coming back, in this article we explain not only how you can remove your tonsil stones yourself, but also how you can prevent the small white stones - without having to go under the knife.
Surgical removal of the tonsils is the conventional medicine solution for recurring tonsil stones and annoying bad breath. If the tonsils are not inflamed, they do not even need to be completely removed. Instead, the so-called intracapsular tonsillectomy (partial tonsil removal using radiofrequency current) is used. Only the part of the tonsils that has the deep folds (crypts) in which the stones tend to hide is removed.
Structure and function of the palatine tonsils
Palatal tonsils have depressions on their surface, so-called almond pits. From the dimples arise the crypts, deep crevices or folds that extend deep into the interior of the tonsils. The tonsils are important components of the immune system. They check the incoming food and breathing air for pathogens and ensure that they are quickly eliminated. To do this, they activate corresponding defense cells in the event of an emergency.
The many pits and crypts increase the surface area of the tonsils many times over, which also increases the tonsils' capacity to recognize and fight off pathogens.
This is how tonsil stones are formed
The so-called detritus can now also collect in the crypts. Detritus is Latin and means waste. And that's exactly what it is: a mixture of leftover food, nasal mucus, tongue coating, dead cells and lymphocytes (white blood cells). Added to this are bacteria that break down the whole thing and turn it into a foul-smelling, rotting mass with a cheese-like consistency. Lime salts are often added, which form small white stones from the substance - the tonsil stones.
Tonsil stones are a living, foul-smelling biofilm
But tonsil stones are not dead stones. No, they are a living mass of bacteria that live in the detritus, eat it and multiply there. In other words: tonsil stones are a biofilm. The greasy, smelly mass that collects in the drain is also a biofilm. Even dental plaque is actually a biofilm.
Sooner or later, the biofilm stones reach the surface of the tonsils and are then usually swallowed or coughed out unnoticed. Some people develop a lot of tonsil stones that don't come off the tonsils on their own. A permanent bad breath can be the result and means that most of those affected want to get rid of their tonsil stones as quickly as possible.
So many people are affected
Depending on the study, 8 percent to 24 percent of all people suffer from tonsil stones, with the stones becoming more common the older you get. Tonsil stones are particularly common in the 50- to 69-year-old age group. Tonsil stones are rare in people under 30.
Affected people can have just 1 or more tonsil stones (up to 18 have been counted in studies. The size varies from 1 to 10 millimetres.
The symptoms
Apart from the foul bad breath, tonsil stones usually do not cause any other symptoms. In some cases, especially when the stones get larger, the following symptoms can occur:
- difficulties swallowing
- Ear pain
Rare: Tonsillitis up to an abscess if a tonsil stone does not come off and becomes inflamed inside the tonsil.
Some people don't know anything about their tonsil stones and suffer from bad breath for years without knowing the reason. So, if you have bad breath and don't know why, inspect your tonsils. If you can't see anything yourself, ask your dentist or an otolaryngologist to check.
The causes from the perspective of conventional medicine
From the perspective of conventional medicine, whether someone is prone to tonsil stones or not depends on the surface of the tonsils. Frequent tonsillitis and respiratory infections cause the tonsils to become more furrowed, which then makes it easier for tonsil stones to implant.
At the same time, the presence of tonsil stones increases the risk of frequent tonsillitis. Because the tonsils are full of detritus and therefore not fully productive. Preventing tonsil stones also includes preventing tonsil infections.
Remove tonsil stones
The easiest way to remove tonsil stones is to cough vigorously or clear your throat, which sometimes results in the stones being dislodged. Or you can tilt your head back and open and close your mouth as if you were yawning. You immediately notice that there is tension in the throat area, which can cause the stones to come loose.
Chewing hard foods, e.g. carrots, celery sticks, etc. The palate muscles are tensed when chewing, which literally massages the tonsil stones out of the almond pits.
Instruments for removing tonsil stones
Tonsil stones can often be treated with simple remedies, such as: B. use a toothbrush or a cotton swab to squeeze it out of the almond tissue. For many people, however, the stones are deeper, so they are not so easy to reach. Other people, on the other hand, cannot use a toothbrush or something similar because they get a gag reflex.
In these cases, suction instruments that are now commercially available can help, e.g. B. a suction glass with which you can suck the tonsil stones out of the crypts. The suction glass consists of a glass pipette and a suction bulb (TonsilClin). The suction power of the small pipette is generally large enough to remove the stones from the tonsils.
Complete tonsil stone remover sets are also available, which consist of several components: an instrument for removing the tonsil stones (with an integrated LED lamp), a syringe with a curved tip with which the remaining deposits are intended to be washed away, but which are of course also used preventatively so that tonsil stones do not form in the first place if the tonsils are rinsed regularly and a tongue cleaner made of copper, which is also supposed to have a preventative effect as it removes the coating of food residues and bacteria from the base of the tongue.