Tonsil stones are located in the tonsils at the back of your throat, usually sitting in small pockets called “crypts” on the surface of the tonsils.

Quick Scoop: Where tonsil stones form

  • They most often sit in the palatine tonsils – the two oval lumps you see on either side at the back of your throat.
  • They hide in tiny holes and folds in the tonsils called tonsillar crypts , which trap food particles, dead cells, mucus and bacteria that can harden into stones.
  • Sometimes similar stones can also form in other lymph tissue in the throat, like the adenoids or lingual tonsils (tissue further down the tongue base), but this is less common.
  • If you look in a mirror with a light, you may see small white or yellowish bumps or dots on the tonsils themselves – that’s usually where tonsil stones sit.

In short: tonsil stones are not in the cheeks or general throat wall; they live in the nooks and crannies of the tonsils right at the back of your mouth.

TL;DR: Tonsil stones are located in the small pits and folds on the surface of your tonsils at the back of your throat, most often in the visible side tonsils.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.