Hi! I have had tonsil stones for a couple years now. They have only within the past year gotten all too fairly common. I have mastered the art of removing them with a q-tip. but i was wondering if anyone could offer a way to PREVENT them from forming.
thanks!

lilfyre

I have read that they only form, it you have your tonsils. You can try reading Tonsilstones.com it may be of some help to you.

nymphetamine

lilfyre, would they remove your tonsils so the stones cant come back?

orange

I've had those all my life and never knew what they were or that they had a name! I tried to explain them to a doctor once to no avail. As a kid I used to call them "peanuts" because to me they looked like chewed up peanuts.. gross! Anyways thanks for giving a name to them... at least I know I'm not crazy. I will check out the site provided too!

lilfyre

They will keep coming back as long as you have your tonsils. There are certain things you can do to stop them, as you get older it is not good to remove your tonsils, I am not sure why, I know they told my husband, they would rather not take them out at his age.

ali_squidz

Hey guys. I have this. To dig them out, cut a straw to a point. It will take them right out. To prevent this, I have found using ONLY LISTERINE TOOTHPASTE 2 times a day does the trick. It doesnt come back!! Hope this helps! Heres my email with questions if you have any! Alicia

SonOfALink

Monoject syringes! Thats what I use. Just fill them with water, get them as close to the stone as you can and blast them out! Painless too!

I've found, by the way, that eating nuts is a surefire way for me to get some of those nasty suckers.

Anyway, for all interested I'm starting a page dedicated to tonsil stones (a lot of the pages I've seen are actually created to sell stuff like Therabreath)... There isn't a lot there, just a survey, some links, and a forum. Anyway, its at www.tonsilstones.org for those interested!

I created it in the hopes that one day I can get rid of those tonsil stones without getting rid of my tonsils!!!

Kerri

I had the same problem and the little suckers stink bad,I ended up getting my tonsils removed.

munnacanada

Your best bet is to make sure that you clear off the forming stones regularily at night with a very blunt thing like a spoon, by pressing on the sides and waiting for the stones to eject out of the crypts."Please make sure that you do this atraumatically".Listerine gargles are fine after extruding the stones.

Sure way of prevention is Tonsillar cryptotomy or tonsillectomy.

jeremy88

Hello board, unfortunately I got this problem like the rest.. choosing to post my input on the subject here as this was one of the first results on a google search for "tonsil stones". If you have this problem, and suffer from sorethroats and the like.. do NOT attempt to remove these things off of the surface of the tonsils if a gentle scrub from a toothbrush won't suffice... these things will likely wash down while drinking liquids and your tonsils will likely bleed if you remove them by any other means. I have even attempted carefully removing them by using tweezer-like tools. They will still bleed, those guys will come off when they are ready to and aren't likely the culprit for most of the discomfort anyway.
Unfortunately the tonsil stones in the crypts (around the outside wall of your tonsils inside your mouth) will buildup a lot worse.. I've heard/read about quite a few techniques for getting rid of these things, personally I use a pair of "scissors" that have forceps-like teeth on the end instead and no blades of course.. (not sure what they're technically called but it's a very useful tool I've found)
Anyway, I clamp a smaller paperclip inside the teeth of these things.. and GENTLY/SLOWLY slide the paperclip towards the wall of my throat behind the tonsil.. starting more at the front of the crevice.. and working it around the top, and then the back of the tonsil.. pushing out the gross stuff in the process.. and spit it out. I can't stress enough to be very gentle here... being forceful and you're going to cause bleeding.. (most likely very mild, but it's generally avoidable. And of course, sterelize any tools you're going to be inserting your mouth, and wash your hands thoroughly.. especially since there is a decent chance of minimal bleeding, and you don't want to magnify the problem.
This alone will usually alleviate the swollen tonsil feeling, but I wouldn't consider this a permanent solution.
As for a long term solution, I only have a few recommendations at this point, as I just started to experience this problem again. Switching to a toothpaste that doesn't cause the mouth to dry out, nasal saline drops/spray, changes to diet, quitting smoking, gargling a 1:1 ratio of water/hydrogen perxodie, are all things likely to help this problem based on a bit of research I've done. But I can tell you that this problem completely went away for me when I quit smoking cigarettes for 8 months, didn't consume caffeinated/alcoholic beverages (All of which will dry your mouth out).
Especially if you're a smoker, you're likely gonna have a dry mouth.. an honest effort to consume water regularly, especially after brushing your teeth/using mouthwash, but routinely throughout the day, should help by not only reducing the drymouth problem, but water doesn't leave flavors/residues behind in your mouth for bacterias to take residence in (like caffeinated/flavored drinks).
Anyway, sorry for the long post with bad structure, but I hope my advice helps somebody and makes it worth the messy read!