You hear the lecture all of the time: “Brush and floss or you will get cavities and gum disease!” Although that’s great advice, there’s one really big part of your mouth that need some attention too. Find a mirror and stick your tongue out! See that coating? Yeah, that needs to come off. Like, right now… or you might be plagued with the all too common “dragon breath”!
Cool Facts About Your Tongue:
- It helps with swallowing, tasting, speaking and keeping your teeth clean
- Our taste buds are so tiny we can’t see them with our eyes. They sit on top of little bumps called papillae.
- When you gain weight, so does your tongue. (ever heard of sleep apnea? Keep the weight off)
- Your tongue says a lot about your overall health. We can sometimes diagnose vitamin deficiencies, allergies and disease
- It’s made up of 8 muscles working together
Your tongue has a lot of texture so it’s easy to imagine how food and bacteria build up on it throughout the day. Since this yucky combination of live germs, dead germs and your last meal can add up to some awful bad breath problems, I want to teach you how to keep your tongue clean.
- Decide on a tongue cleaning tool. A toothbrush, tongue cleaning brush, or tongue scraper.
- Stick your tongue out (it’s best to do this in front of a mirror)
- Scraping or brushing from the back to the front is the goal but start out on the tip of your tongue and work your way back until you know you aren’t going to gag.
- You will see the film coming off on the tool and/or brush so rinse it every few strokes.
- Rinse with water, salt water, or a dentist recommended antibacterial best suited for you.
- Repeat at least once a day.
- Say goodbye to dragon breath!
Keeping your tongue clean will reduce bad breath bacteria, help you taste your food better and actually decrease the amount of germs that could infect your throat and lungs. If you want to get yourself a tongue cleaning device, check out these products below:
*Did you know that in some countries like Tibet, sticking your tongue out at someone is actually a common greeting.
REFERENCES:
http://www.onhealth.com/content/1/tongue_facts
http://www.colgate.com/en/us/oc/oral-health/basics/mouth-and-teeth-anatomy/article/ten-human-tongue-facts-for-well-rounded-oral-care-1014
http://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Your-Tongue-Properly