Published in January 2020. 

On the tip of your tongue….

Seriously, the tongue?

It’s an easy place to miss when brushing your teeth. Few people know about the dangers of the bacteria sitting on your tongue. It’s dark wet and warm, and also the most central space in the mouth. That makes it perfect for all types of bacteria to thrive in numbers!

Okay so bacteria on the tongue is icky, but why should you brush there?

Here are five of the main reasons:

1. It stops bad breath. Bacteria are actually the main cause of bad breath and scrubbing as many of them out as possible decreases their possibility of breeding and subsequently minimizes odours from the mouth.
2. Proper care also leads to better immunity. Scraping your tongue prevents harmful toxins from entering your system, maintaining overall digestive health.
3. Brushing here can help prevent gum disease. Bacteria are living on your tongue can attack many other places including your gums.
4. It prevents oral thrush. Oral thrush is a build-up of yeast in your mouth and is characterized by the white film that forms over your tongue. If that doesn’t sound delicious, you can eliminate this with some steady brushing. 
5. Life tastes better when you brush your tongue! It’s science. Plaque build-up actually dulls the taste buds so clean taste buds give a stronger taste to your food. Even if you don’t like the feel of a brush on your tongue, most drug stores sell scrapers as an alternative, which are made of soft plastic to scrape off the top mucous layer that can build up there.  

6. 

   If you’ve ever seen these at the pharmacy, now you know what they are for! Cleaning your tongue.

 

 

 

Your tongue is a huge part of your mouth, keeping it clean is important for more than just fresh breath. For more brushing techniques, check out our previous post on how to brush the right way.

Ready to test your technique? Book your appointment now.