Tonsillolith treatment can involve a surgical removal of the stone.
Tonsils are filled with crevaces (called tonsillar crypts) where bacteria and other materials, including mucous and dead cells, can become trapped. Over time, the deposits can become concentrated into white formations. These calcify and become tonsil stones. This occurs most often in people who suffer with chronic inflammation in their tonsils or repeated cases of tonsilitis. Other causes of tonsilloliths would be overactive salivary glands, mucus secretions, and smoking without a filter (most common in frequent cannabis users).
Since many tonsil stones don't cause any noticable symptons, they are only discovered accidentally by CT scans or X-rays. Larger tonsil stones, however, have multiple symptoms:
Bad breath is one of the main indicators of a tonsil stone. According to Wikipedia, "Among those with bad breath, 75% of the subjects had tonsilloliths while only 6% of subjects with normal halitometry values (normal breath) had tonsilloliths." Many researchers suggest to check for tonsil stones when the cause of bad breath cannot be determined.
The presence of a tonsil stone may cause you to feel pain or discomfort in the area that it is lodged. They can also cause a difficulty in swallowing. Depending on the size of the tonsil stone, it may even become painful to swallow food or liquids. Tonsil swelling will occur once the tonsil stone forms, and the tonsils will become inflamed from infection.
Some tonsil stones are visible in the back of the throat. You will notice a large lump of white material. However, this is not always the case. Tonsil stones are often hidden in the folds of the tonsils and can become hard to detect.
While diagnosis can usually be made upon inspecting the tonsils, it is sometimes difficult if they haven't surfaced, and often are only found after routine radiological studies. Imaging diagnostic techniques can identify a mass that may be mistaken for displaced teeth or blood cells that have become calcified. Determining whether you have tonsolloliths must be established if you have chronic or acute tonsillities, tonsillar hypertrophy or peritonsillar abscesses.
In order to treat tonsilloliths, a doctor will perform a surgical removal of the stone via an oral curette. There is a longer term cure, which involves laser resurfacing, called laser cryptolysis. The use of a carbon dioxide laser vaporizes and removes the surface of the tonsils. The edges of the crevices in your tonsils become flat, so that they can no longer trap any debris and form stones. The most drastic method is getting a tonsillectomy. It is usually not recommended, but by removing the tonsils, tonsilloliths cannot form.
Depending on the severity of the tonsilloliths, you may be able to treat them yourself. For the safest and most effective way to diagnose and treat tonsil stones. For more information on Tonsilloliths Treatment go to