An elderly patient with full/full dentures attends the surgery for a routine check-up. She tells you that she has been diagnosed with an iron and vitamin B deficiency by her GP, but she has come in to see you as her tongue is very sore. What condition is she most likely suffering from?

• A. Glossitis
• B. Anemia
• C. Angular cheilitis
• D. Oral candidiasis

Answer: (A)

Glossitis is inflammation of the tongue that often results from nutritional deficiencies such as iron and B vitamins. When someone has iron and vitamin B deficiency, the tongue mucosa can become inflamed and the papillae can diminish, causing a sore, tender, and sometimes smooth red tongue. That direct link between the nutritional deficiencies and the tongue symptoms makes glossitis the best explanation for a very sore tongue in this patient. Angular cheilitis would show cracks at the corners of the mouth, oral candidiasis would typically present with white patches or a general red burning sensation on the mucosa, and anemia is a systemic blood condition rather than a localized tongue problem—so the tongue-specific sore fits glossitis most closely.