The Causes of Tonsil Stones and How They are Formed
Tonsil stones or tonsilloliths are calcified and solid white, yellowish, or grayish looking substances lodged in your tonsils at the back of your mouth. These are dead cells, bacteria, and other foreign materials that have accumulated in the crevices of your tonsils. Some people are sometimes fooled by these materials since they seem to be food particles that get stuck at the back of the throat.
The formation of tonsillolith requires knowledge of how the lymphatic system works in our body. The lymphatic system carries red blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the organs and cells of the body. The major function of the lymph fluid is in carrying mostly white blood cells, essential in our body’s defense against infection.
The lymph fluid also brings with it all the waste, bacteria, and “garbage” that the body organs and cells get rid of. This body fluid then goes through the lymph nodes. A typical example of a lymph node is our tonsils. The lymph nodes serve as filters where bacteria and other materials are sorted out making the lymph fluid that flows through them clean again. Thus is the function of our tonsils as one of the lymph nodes.
After filtration, there must be an area in the body where wastes are to be stored before their disposal. These areas would be the tonsil crevices where they are gathered together and stored. Normally, these wastes will be disposed of through the feces or the oral cavity. However, when there is overproduction of these wastes, the tonsils become overworked and will sometimes swell up. Eventually, the “garbage” piles up and later harden. After they calcify, they get stuck in the crevices of the tonsils and keep on accumulating more waste. Later, these develop and form tonsil stones and will produce a foul odor just like garbage.
An individual thus get tonsil stones because of the overproduction of dead skin cells and bacteria. Hence there is really a need to practice good oral habits because this happens when a person has poor oral hygiene such as not brushing and flossing the teeth daily. When the oral cavity is not clean enough, this may become favorable for the growth of bacteria which is the root cause of the formation of tonsil stones. Although there are other theories that support their growth, they differ from one another and the causes vary for different persons. But no matter what the cause, the treatments are still the same.