thrush vs hairy tongue

i wanted to know what is the difference between thrush and hairy tongue i have a white coat on top of my tongue its not in patches the whole top part is white i hear that thrush is painful to have and that you wouldnt be able to eat as well because of the pain ive had the white tongue for as long as i could remember does thrush spread on to your cheeks or throat? i do smoke and i really dont have the best oral hygiene i never had no pain or no pain eating or drinking when i scraped my tongue it doesnt hurt at all i would jus like to know the difference between oral thrush and hairy tongue thank you

[Cycl3Chick]

thrush can feel like it burns.  it should easily scrape off and its a yeast infection.  Hairy tongue looks like how the name is.  The papilla on your tongue grow long and look like grass.  If you do not brush your tongue you will get a white coating that eventually turns black and leads to what is called, black hairy tongue.  Which just means it turned black.

I would see a doctor to confirm thrush or not b/c you will need a prescription to get rid of it, if it is.