Our tonsils are among the first lines of defense against illness. They work like skimmers or nets, trapping bacteria and viruses as they pass through the throat. But they don’t always work the way they’re supposed to. On occasion bacteria, dead cells and mucous can become trapped in the crevices of the tonsils, gathering and hardening into small white or yellowish stones called tonsil stones.
Why do they occur? Simply, they come because “garbage” gathers around your tonsils, and when that garbage (things like postnasal drip, food particles, and bacteria) gets caught in tonsil crevices, it hardens into small yellow colored stones that can look like white spots at the back of the throat. Overactive salivary glands and a reaction to dairy products can also cause tonsiliths.
Not long ago, people simply thought these tonsiliths were bits of food or bits of plaque that got caught in the back of the throat — and indeed, they are very small, such that normal physical examinations may not catch them; in some cases, they won’t be seen until a more refined test is used, like a CT scan.
Do you have tonsiliths? That depends; symptoms can be embarrassing and unpleasant indeed. If you have tonsil stones, you can feel as though something is stuck in the back of your throat or that your throat is somehow “tightening.” You may have a metallic taste in your mouth, and you’ll almost always have chronic bad breath.
You can treat tonsil stones, though, and in many cases you can do it from home. Gargle thoroughly and establish a good oral hygiene routine, which can help take care of them. You can reach the back of your throat with your finger, a Q-tip, or the back of your toothbrush, and gently scrape them away. You can squeeze them out by brushing gently upwards with your brush, finger, etc., pressing gently as you do so. There are other methods you can get rid of them with, too, and you can find them by Googling, “tonsil stones,” or “tonsiliths” on the Internet.
In some particularly severe cases, surgery may be recommended. Cryptolysis is a surgical procedure whereby a surgeon removes the tonsil stones with a laser, and then smoothes the surface of the tonsil so as to prevent regrowth of the tonsiliths. Even though that may seem like a good idea, remember that smoothing the surface of the tonsils may in fact negate some of the positive effects of those rough surfaces, because those rough surfaces do catch bacteria before they can do significant damage.
The most drastic procedure is to have your tonsils completely removed. While this will stop the formation of tonsil stones, it won’t cure the bad breath left behind, it won’t remove the bacteria and it won’t completely stop the gathering of stones. All it will do, to be honest, is remove your tonsils. Surgical treatments are also expensive and can take up to a month to fully recover from.
Beyond that, it may simply be better to manage tonsiliths by practicing good oral hygiene and following a healthy diet. Cut down on your dairy intake if you have to and make sure you brush regularly, especially after meals and before bed. This will help keep food from accumulating in your throat such that tonsiliths could form. Gargling as part of oral hygiene is also a good way to keep tonsil stones at bay, as is drinking plenty of water. And all of these tips, of course, are good for your health in general — not just as preventatives for tonsiliths.
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