what causes tongue to be white
Smoking and Dehydration. Two other common causes of a white tongue are not due to a disease but lifestyle factors. Smoking irritates the lining of the mouth, which can cause it to turn white. This cause of a white coating on the tongue typically goes away once tobacco use is stopped.
By Mayo Clinic Staff. White tongue is the result of an overgrowth and swelling of the fingerlike projections (papillae) on the surface of your tongue. The appearance of a white coating is caused by debris, bacteria and dead cells getting lodged between the enlarged and sometimes inflamed papillae.
There are a number of things that can cause a whitish coating or white spots to develop on the tongue, including: 1  Leukoplakia. This condition causes cells in the mouth to grow excessively. 2  Oral thrush . Also known as candidiasis, oral thrush is a yeast infection that develops inside the mouth. 3  Oral lichen planus .