PurposeThis study aimed to identify factors associated with atrophic tongue in patients with dry mouth.MethodsDiscriminant analysis was performed in 1265 patients with dry mouth to identify factors that might influence the risk of developing atrophic tongue. The dependent variable was the presence of atrophic tongue, while patient age, resting saliva flow rate, stimulated saliva flow rate and Candida colony‐forming units (CFU) were used as the independent variables.ResultsThe standardised linear discriminant coefficients showed that Candida CFU, stimulated saliva flow rate and age were significantly associated with the presence of atrophic tongue. The following linear discriminant function was obtained: z = 0.024 × age − 0.63 × (resting saliva flow rate) − 0.81 × (stimulated saliva flow rate) + 0.002 × Candida CFU − 0.611.ConclusionHigh Candida CFU, low stimulated saliva flow rate and advanced age were identified as closely associated factors for the risk of development of atrophic tongue.