Are tonsil stones hard or soft? Why are they usually white or yellow?

Hey, on the topic of tonsil stones, let me share my understanding with you~

Are Tonsil Stones Hard or Soft? — Answer: It Depends!

The texture isn't fixed; it has a "growth process" from soft to hard.

Soft Initially The tonsil surface isn't smooth; it has many pits like little caves called crypts. Food debris, dead cells shed in our mouth, along with bacteria and mucus, easily get trapped in these crypts. Initially, this mix forms a soft mass, somewhat like damp dental plaque or small cheese curds. If you remove it at this stage, it crumbles easily when pressed between your fingers.
Hardens Over Time If this soft mixture stays lodged in the tonsil crypts, mineral salts like calcium from our saliva gradually deposit onto it. This process is called calcification. It's like building layers of "shell" around this soft ball. The longer it stays, the thicker the shell, and eventually, it becomes increasingly hard—truly like a little stone.

So, in short: Newly formed or smaller stones are usually soft and crumbly. Well-established, older stones or larger ones often become hard due to calcification.

Why Are They Usually White or Yellow? — It Depends on Their "Recipe"

The color of tonsil stones primarily depends on the "ingredients" they're made of. Think of it like a little ball rolled deep in your throat; its composition determines its color.

The main components are:

Dead cells and white blood cells: Cells from the oral cavity and tonsil surface shed naturally during metabolism; they are generally whitish. Inflammation can bring in white blood cells, also white.
Food debris: Particles like rice, bread crumbs, dairy products, etc., which are naturally white or pale yellow.
Bacteria and their "products": Large numbers of bacteria colonize the area, forming a biofilm, typically yellowish-white or grayish-white. Incidentally, bacterial metabolites are a main cause of the strong foul odor associated with tonsil stones.
Mineral salts: The calcifying minerals mentioned earlier, primarily calcium, are white in color.

To summarize: Mixing and compressing together these predominantly white and pale yellow "ingredients" (cells, food debris, bacteria, minerals) results in the formation of little "stones," which naturally appear white or pale yellow to us. Occasionally, if mixed with minor trace bleeding, a stone might appear streaked with blood, though this is less common.