You're Brushing Your Teeth—But Are You Cleaning Your Tongue?
Posted on: 22 November 2016
Your parents probably taught you to brush your teeth twice a day when you were younger. Most people do a pretty decent job of adhering to this standard—at least most of the time. But there is another aspect of maintaining oral health that you might be neglecting: brushing your tongue. Keeping your tongue clean is almost as important as cleaning your teeth themselves.
Why is it important to keep your tongue clean?
The same nasty oral bacteria that hang out on your teeth and cause tooth decay are also found on your tongue. All you have to do is rub your tongue against your teeth after brushing, and the bacteria will be right back on your teeth where they can start causing decay. The bacteria can also be passed back to your gums where they'll cause gum disease, which can lead to redness, bleeding, and soreness in the gum tissues as well as tooth loss down the road.
Failing to clean your tongue can also lead to bad breath. If you've been wondering why your breath still smells even after you brush and floss, it's probably because your tongue has not been cleaned.
How should you clean your tongue?
The easiest way is often to just use your toothbrush to brush your tongue after you're done brushing your teeth. You don't have to brush hard. Just start as far back on your tongue as you comfortably can without gagging, and brush in little circles like you would with your teeth. Rinse your mouth out, and you're finished. At first, you might trigger your gag reflex. However, as you adapt to brushing your tongue, you gag reflex should become less and less pronounced until you no longer trigger it.
If you find brushing your tongue uncomfortable, another method is to use a tongue scraper. This is a device that has a long handle (similar to a toothbrush handle) and an apparatus that looks like a tiny snow scraper on the end. You just reach towards the back of your mouth, set the scraper on your tongue, and pull it forward. You'll be surprised how much whitish, plaque-like residue comes off. Rinse this down the drain. Remember to sanitize both your tongue scraper and toothbrush by putting them in the dishwasher or soaking it in mouthwash every week or so.
If you have any questions about keeping your tongue clean, click to read more, and speak with your dentist.
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