I think I understand what you are talking about.
I too have noticed small white or white-yellow build up in my tonsils which caused bad breath. I could sometimes even feel when it was there and at times as I talked they would work themselves out and into my mouth.
To touch them is gross since they are quite pungent and I had to immediately wash my hands afterwards with soap to rid the smell.
It was infrequent, yet still annoying.
I went to the doctor to see if I could get my tonsils removed at my age (25) or if there was some other way to get rid of it.
He told me that it was bits of food that gets caught in the tonsils since the surface of the tonsils is very pitted and that there really isnt anything I could do about it other than to brush and rinse after meals and make sure my dental hygene was good.
I dont have them very often anymore, and if I feel them or suspect I do I try to use a q-tip or something to help get it out of my mouth (which probably isnt recommended lol).
Rest assured its not a serious problem and with proper dental care shouldnt worry you too much.
Best of luck!

I have also the same problem of you sometimes I feel something in my throat that causes a bad smell in mouth maybe can be rinity it use to cause this problem try to take a x-ray I ve taken and I had this problem if you have any question pls email me
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I have read a bunch of different people talking about this "thing that gets stuck in the back of the throat just behind that flap in the back of the mouth. But I have not seen anything in respect to a solution to the problem or a way of preventing it. I have been dealing with this for as much as ten years now. Not only does it give me a bad taste in my mouth and most likely bad breath but after a few hours it starts to irritate the glands on that side (left) as if I had an ear ache. I have used a small dental tool and a flashlight to remove them and it relieves the irritation immedialty. Can anyone tell me what they may have found out about this ??

Haa. The mysterious little pleb... Yuk!

Yes, I got it too. From time to time it can be very irritating. Don't know where it comes from. But I think you are right, bits of food that got logged down in tiny spaces in the nasal or throat area. When the pieces stay inside too long, it turn stale and give out bad odor. I notice that if I slow down on chewing and swollowing while I am eating, the less this will happen. If I eat in a hurry and swollow fast, bits and pieces of food can get stuck inside area where they don't belong. I have noticed other people that have the 'breath-of-plebs' but too embarressed to ask them,so I am glad that you folks are around to offer this discussion therapy. By the way, do anyone who have this problem have symptoms of heartburn?? Somehow, I think there may be a connection....Hummm..

Well that was a pain - the registering I meant. ...But since I too suffer from this and was so happy to see there are some others out there, thought I should share what i've learned.

It seems that I only get these little things on my left tonsil. I've actually never noticed (nor been told of) any bad breath, but after removing the stuff I will certainly agree it smells quite nasty.

I have found that it's really difficult to remove it from the front side with anything. I've tried tweezers, q-tips, toothpicks, etc. Probably lots of things you shouldn't use.

What i've learned to do is take a q-tip and remove the cotton from one side (just pull it off). Then gently push on the 'dirty' tonsil from the backside. It's a little weird, but essentially it seems to put some pressure on it. After a few attempts the food (or whatever) should come dislodged. Then I use the cotton end to grab the little piece and pull it out.

Hope this helps someone out there.

Also - I noticed once it's removed it sometimes leaves what looks to be almost a hole in the tonsil. I guess it eventually closes back up - but it's pretty evident once the piece comes out.

Yah I had that same problem in between my tonsils and that little flap of skin. Well I could feel it everytime I swallow and I just got annoyed by it so I touched it and it smelled bad. So I decided that it had to come out. I just wet my finger with water and then kinda tried to scratch the thing off of my tonsils it took me like 9 tries but I finally got it off after gagging about 4 times, but hey it worked and I feel all bettter now :d

Yeah I have this same problem but not the bad breath I noticed it when I was talking to my friend and a chunk on some thing was in my mouth I was like what the hell it was hella stinky then I noticed it was coming from my tonsils that was a few years ago now its more and I can feel when I have it
its like something hard when u swallow thats when I rush to the bathroom cuz I sure in the hell dont want to swallow that I found this works the best for me to get rid of it for at least a few days
first I see were its at then I wet my finger and from bottom up I push and all that nasty smelly junk comes out I also push only in the front but try not to swallow it and if ur pushing and gagging at the same time I think it comes out more its nasty but u will feel the difference its like empty lol
i just figured it out to push infront inward and up and I think that when u can get the most out after gargle with listerine
let me know what works for yall

I used to frequently get sore throats.. Which always led to strep throat. After awhile I noticed this awful taste in my mouth as soon as I would get a sore throat. Looking at my tonsils one day I noticed that the left one had a small "pocket" at the top of it... Not ever noticing this before I put my finger in there and pushed on it. Well, a whole bunch of white semi-hard chunks of stuff came out of that pocket.. Smelling exactly like the awful taste I was having in my mouth. Almost immediately my sore throat went away! Now I clean out my tonsils regularily... And the best part? I haven't had a severe sore throat/strep throat in about a year... What could be better than that?

"i used to frequently get sore throats.. Which always led to strep throat. After awhile I noticed this awful taste in my mouth as soon as I would get a sore throat. Looking at my tonsils one day I noticed that the left one had a small "pocket" at the top of it... Not ever noticing this before I put my finger in there and pushed on it. Well, a whole bunch of white semi-hard chunks of stuff came out of that pocket.. Smelling exactly like the awful taste I was having in my mouth. Almost immediately my sore throat went away! Now I clean out my tonsils regularily... And the best part? I haven't had a severe sore throat/strep throat in about a year... What could be better than that?"


lol that just sounds nasty to do. Taking that white hard piece out was enough. I should try that next time I get sore throat thanks. :wink:

The stones are not themselves indicative of infection; it's just that your tonsils have some little crevices in them and stuff gets trapped in there and decays... That's what stinks. (i suspect the tonsils go on to secrete something around the foreign material and that's what makes the stones white and waxy, but I don't know anything about the physiology of it.)

as you probably know, the stones appear first as white spots on the tonsils before they get dislodged. So, my dental hygienist did say that people often can scrape these spots out -- gently! Try it with a q-tip! -- as a cleaning process, to dislodge the stones, and it should be safe. She also said routinely brushing the back of the tongue, if you can manage it, and gargling (even with plain water) will help keep things cleaner. Once every couple of days I rinse with hydrogen peroxide before brushing, and I find that if I gargle a little with that, it often brings out a stone shortly thereafter, so that's something to consider.

I guess my case is milder than yours -- usually only one every week or two -- but the basic principles are probably the same. From what i've read, the admittedly nasty smell of the stones really is *not* reflected in one's breath so please don't fret over that!

This is something that is not cureable,but manageable. If you can handle it. Just use a qtip on the back of your throat. It is hard and makes you want to gag, but it knocks it all loose and if you brush your teeth regualrly and usr a mouth rinse to gargle all of this should help it go away.

I know this because I too have had these in the past. But not so bad that anyone had noticed.

So just gargle with mouth rinse allot and always brush before bed. That stuff it very important.

I'm a 19 year old male, and I've been getting these for about a year now. My tongue is able to reach around the left and touch my tonsils, so I felt the foreign material almost instantly. I use my finger to press on the tonsil gently, and the pebble usually becomes loose and dislodges--sometimes with tongue.

Wikipedia is our friend

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsilloliths

hello im 13 yrs old n i get these white bits dat cum out of my tonsil i dnt get them often what could i do to accturly stop them causing for a bit

I've had these nasty little creatures from the deep, ever since I can remember. I was totally grossed out by them as a young kid. Who am I kidding, I’m still grossed out.

My throat often gets irritated and sometimes downright sore. I also notice that when I get sick there are more of these than usual.

Anyway, the best method I’ve found to get rid of these is to use one of those little pointy plastic syringes (probably not doctor recommended - do not use a needle syringe) to flush my tonsils with water. A flashlight may also help to see.

The best articles I’ve found about this topic are:
health.Ivillage.Com /ent/throat/0,,5nf6,00.Html
and
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsillolith

As for the heartburn...Hmmm I get it once in a while, but I’ve never thought about any connection. I guess I’ll pay a little more close attention to see if this is possible.

O my god! what can I say but thanks to everyone here who had this.
A month ago I started geting horrible dripping in my throat, was not coming from nasal but lower. I spotted in the mirror one morning a white pea sized thing in my mouth - panic - on to the internet - I had cancer and aids according to wrongdiagnosis.com - I never understood the name of that website till now.

Went to a doc near work, he said it was an infection, he could not see it as it had disappeared since I gargled for 5 minutes the night before. He said keep gargling and gave a prescription for penicillin V to be used if it does not go away in a week.
It didn't too the antibiotic. Seemed to stop the drip. Noticed the white things again.

Googled "build up of white foul in mouth" and found Tonsillolith and this forum.

Thanks to you guys I moved from q-tip to wet finger and boy did the white stuff just keep coming out. 7 times I managed to get white bits coming out. It just kept on coming. disgusting, putrid, foul lumps of rotten filth. All from the same location on the left.

I can't believe the Doc didn't say thats what it was.

I remember as a kid now and again I'd cough up one of these bad boy that wreaked. I remember I got one about 2 month ago from doing some serious interval sprinting, thought i came from my lungs and I was breathing so hard.

The GF never complained about it, so I don't think the breath or taste ever got that bad. This is such are relief.

All I can say is follow the advise above. Its easier if you use the index finger of the opposite hand to the tonsil you want to clear. Wet the finger a lot seems to reduce gag. Also get a white LED touch as they are very bright and focused, makes looking that far back in your mouth easier (I used light from digital camera)

cheers all!

o I forgot to say - I've being getting wicked heartburn and reflux ever since the tonsillolith appeared. I reckon its related to the drip - bacteria

I have had this for years!! So funny reading these posts!! LOL
I tried to push on Tonsils...hard to get back there...and won't seem to work for me!!
I think it is Plaque build-up though not sure why it comes from inside the tonsils as I have heard of people squeezing them out! It looks like Garlic chunks to me but smells much worse!!
How can food particles get caught inside the tonsils? Also...it looks the same every time so I do not think it is food at all!!

i have the same problem its so gross and gives me bad breath,which is really embarassing. i use a bobby pin to get those things out.

Hello.

Tonsil stones are usually white, sometimes hard, due to calcification & cause bad breath.

You can dislodge them in a couple of ways.
1)Using a curved dropper
2)Gargling with hot salt water

Tonsil stones are not a sign of any disease.

Best wishes,
Dr. John.