Kolte Rajashri Abhay, Kolte Abhay Pandurang, Bajaj Vinisha, Gattani Ritika Rakesh, Bajaj Pavan, Thakre Shivani, Kothekar Mahima
Ranjeet Deshmukh Dental College and Research Centre, Nagpur, India.
Sharad Pawar Dental College and Hospital, Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha, India.
BMC Oral Health. 2025 Nov 12;25(1):1774. doi: 10.1186/s12903-025-07139-z.
Existing methods to calibrate tongue coatings on the dorsum of the tongue have limitations of subjectivity, complexity, or time inefficiency. The proposed Tongue Coatings Severity Index (TCSI) was designed to fill this gap by offering a simple, reproducible, and time-efficient method for assessment. This study investigated the prevalence, distribution, and severity of tongue coatings and their clinical associations.
A cohort of 200 systemically healthy patients (20-60 years) with equal gender distribution were screened for Tongue Coating Area (TCA), Tongue Coating Severity (TCS), Final Tongue Coating Severity (FTCS), and oral malodour, and compared according to periodontal status.
The mean TCA was higher in males, whereas TCS and FTCS showed higher values in females, although these differences did not achieve statistical significance. TCA, TCS, and FTCS scores increased with worsening periodontal status and were significantly higher in patients with oral malodour.
The TCSI enables clinicians to record both the extent and severity of tongue coatings quickly and reliably, facilitating its use in screening halitosis, monitoring periodontal disease progression, and potentially in public health surveillance. Validation in larger and more diverse populations is required prior to widespread adoption.
Clinical Trials Registry (CTRI/2022/02/040688) last modified on 26/02/2022 and registered on 28/02/2022.
现有的校准舌背舌苔的方法存在主观性、复杂性或时间效率低下的局限性。拟议的舌苔严重程度指数（TCSI）旨在通过提供一种简单、可重复且省时的评估方法来填补这一空白。本研究调查了舌苔的患病率、分布、严重程度及其临床关联。
对200名系统健康的患者（年龄20 - 60岁，性别分布均衡）进行筛查，评估其舌苔面积（TCA）、舌苔严重程度（TCS）、最终舌苔严重程度（FTCS）和口腔异味，并根据牙周状况进行比较。
男性的平均TCA较高，而女性的TCS和FTCS值较高，尽管这些差异未达到统计学意义。TCA、TCS和FTCS评分随着牙周状况的恶化而增加，且在有口腔异味的患者中显著更高。
TCSI使临床医生能够快速、可靠地记录舌苔的范围和严重程度，便于其用于筛查口臭、监测牙周疾病进展，以及可能用于公共卫生监测。在广泛采用之前，需要在更大且更多样化的人群中进行验证。
临床试验注册中心（CTRI/2022/02/040688），最后修改于2022年2月26日，注册于2022年2月28日。
