Are there any possible causes of geographic tongue?

Unknown: The condition is just that : a condition , not a disease per se. In some cases it is associated with psoriasis of the skin.

Geographic Tongue.: It is a common but not serious effect occurs on the tongue of white patches moving over the top of the tongue. It is currently thought to be candida albicans, a normal yeast in the mouth. No treatment is necessary, but to keep the tongue clean with a tongue scraper. If it burns get hot or painful seek a professional.

Geographic tongue: Possible causes? Yes but there is nothing that has been proven and no definitive causes as of yet. They do tend to run in families and some therefore think it may have a genetic link. Another thought is possibly an autoimmune response.

Come and go, but...: Tongue is known to have many variations with pigmenting, size, appearance, & not always due to disease.Other causes of tongue that looks patchy include: lichen planus (responds to steroids), white sponge nevus (familial, benign, permanent), smoker's leukoplakia (2% risk of cancer, needs biopsy), hairy leukoplakia (due to epsteinbarr virus), warts (due to papillomavirus), "thrush" (rx antifungals).