Tooth marks on both sides of the tongue generally suggest that the patient has spleen deficiency, water-dampness internalization, dampness-heat phlegm internalization, etc..
Tooth marks on the side of the tongue are mostly caused by the tongue body being fat and squeezed by the teeth. If the tongue is not fat and there are teeth marks, it is a delicate tongue with teeth marks. The tongue is pale, fat and moist, with teeth marks on the side of the tongue, mostly caused by the congestion of cold and dampness in the body, or by the internalization of water-dampness in Yang deficiency (water-dampness stays in the body). A pale red tongue with teeth marks on the side of the tongue is seen in spleen deficiency. If the tongue is red, swollen and full of mouth, and there are teeth marks on the side of the tongue, it is dampness, heat, phlegm and turbidity.
In addition, in congenital tongue with teeth marks, the tongue is not very red and tender, with slight teeth marks on the side. If the tongue is not big, reddish and tender, with slight teeth marks on the side, it means the condition is mild, which is common in children and people with deficiency of qi and blood.