Tonsil stones, in the medical terms called tonsillolith, are little white things that form in the back of the throat mainly forming and developing on the tonsils. There are a number of contributing factors that lead to the formation of tonsil stones. The good thing is that these stones will not hurt the body. The throat may feel somewhat restricted if the stone is bigger than the usual. In some cases, one may experience having a metal taste in the mouth.
The covering surface of the tonsils has small pockets or crypts. Some people have smooth tonsils with shallow crypts while many have rough tonsils with deep crypts. When the tonsil swells and become inflamed, these crypts expand and it if is large enough, the debris may become lodged in them. This trapped debris may consist of food particles, dead oral tissue cells, post-nasal-drip mucous, and various bacteria, including anaerobic bacteria.
When all of the debris gets mixed together, the body treats it as a foreign material or an invader. This will trigger the body to send white blood cells to attack it resulting to a white or yellowish, cauliflower-shaped lump that’s typically rock-hard and usually tastes horrible and smells atrocious. People who already experienced this first-hand will have no difficulty understanding why getting rid of them will help eliminate bad breath.
People who have small tonsil stones may tend to swallow it without even noticing because this dislodged stone is so tiny. However, the larger stones that become dislodged ends up in the tongue and people who have it will quickly discover that it tastes horrible and smells atrocious. If the stone is dislodged during its early stages of formation, it may resemble a cheese in its texture. But more often than not, these clumps are quite hard like little stones.
For those severe cases, tonsil stones can cause extreme discomfort to person who has this. A lot of tonsil stones grow so large that people suffering from it have reported the feeling of having an object stuck in the back of their throat. Larger tonsil stones may often result to a persistent sore throat and frequent occurrences of tonsillitis. It is best to consult one’s dentist during these severe cases so that they can provide further help in understanding what other factors can contribute to the formation of tonsil stones and what are the best ways to take on how to prevent or remove tonsil stones.
