Background: Tongue lesions determine the general and oral health status of the individual. The present study aimed to describe the prevalence of the various tongue lesions in the south Indian population. Material and Methods: In this cross sectional study 1760 subjects, 772 females and 988 males were examined clinically for the presence of various tongue lesions. Information about patient age, gender, medical history, habits, tongue lesion and associated symptoms were obtained. Results: Four seventy two patients (26.82%) of 1760 subjects had tongue lesions with higher prevalence in males. The tongue lesion was more prevalent in the group of 3049years. The lesions more frequently observed in decreasing order of prevalence were fissured tongue (30.93%), Pigmented tongue, coated tongue depapillated tongue, geographic tongue, traumatic ulcer, leukoplakia, candidiasis, oral submucous fibrosis, partial ankyloglossia, aphthous ulceration, hairy tongue, oral lichen planus, enlarged foliate papillae, traumatic fibroma and malignant lesion. The systemic disease associated with tongue lesion was diabetes mellitus followed by anaemia, hypertension and gastrointestinal disease. Prevalence of tongue lesion in patients with habit of using tobacco was 15.68 %. Conclusion: The results observed in this population are similar to other studies. Clinically, tongue conditions can be easily diagnosed and this necessitates familiarity and better understanding of common lesions of tongue among the general dental practitioner.

Keywords: Oral Lesions; Prevalence; Tongue Lesions; Fissured Tongue.