If you ask around what people think about tongue cleaning, you’ll be surprised by how trivial many regard the habit. Yet, maintaining a high level of oral hygiene is inclusive of cleansing the tongue regularly. To keep healthy, caring for your mouth plays a central role in your overall well-being.
Why is it Important to Clean the Tongue?
Tongue cleaning has numerous merits and it’s as essential as brushing your teeth. Here are a few reasons why it should be a routine practice.
Bacteria Removal
When you rinse your mouth, you are barely removing bacteria present on the tongue. And mind you, these microbes are the major culprits in many dental issues. When you scrape your tongue lightly with the Amazon.com : Basic Concepts Tongue Scraper for Adults with Travel, you will remove hanging food particles, dead cells, and harmful bacteria harbored in the mouth. That way, you can be free from potential oral problems like tooth decay and gum infections.
Bad Breath Removal
Halitosis is an aftermath of poor oral hygieneꟷ involving the exclusion of the tongue while brushing. According to research, cleaning your tongue twice daily will reduce the presence of streptococci and lactobacilli renown to cause bad breath.
Meanwhile, other factors like food choices and diseases can also cause halitosis.
To Enhance Taste
The surface of the tongue is lined with papillae and they’re enclosed in the taste buds. This is how you’re able to tell different sour, sweet, bitter, and salty tastes. When you clean your tongue frequently, you’re refreshing your sense of taste.
Reinforces Your Immunity
Due to the accumulation of oral microbes in your mouth, your immune system needs to work extra hard to fight them off. Whereas, with constant cleansing of your mouth, you’re relieving them of the extreme effort that makes them quickly suppressed and weakened. This makes them effective in combating remaining toxins to keep you healthy.
Bolsters Your Digestion
Although the saliva does a good job of washing off food debris after eating. But some pieces still hang around the mouth and attract bacteria over time. Cleaning your tongue doesn’t only help with optimizing the cleansing action of the mouth’s fluid. It also aids the activation of enzymes that promote digestion.
What’s the Best Way to Clean the Tongue?
Whether you’re using a toothbrush or scraper, you must opt for a type you’re okay with. Afterward, follow these steps.
- On completing brushing your teeth, open your mouth wide and stick your tongue out.
- Place your tongue cleaner on the back of your tongue. Gently, with slight pressure, move it forward to collect debris.
- After about 3-5 back-and-forth motions with your scraper, you can slowly move it around circularly to intensify bacteria removal.
- While undergoing the process, ensure you rinse the scraper after every scuff.
- Wash your mouth with water once done.
You can get your tongue scrapers from an online dental shop. However, an alternative to those is your normal manual toothbrush. Move the bristles toward the back of your tongue and wipe to the front. Don’t forget to be tender with the process.
From the above discussion, it’s apparent that tongue cleaning is highly relevant to your oral wellness. To sustain your dental health, consult your dentist regularly. If you don’t have one yet, you can check out this dentist in Staten Island instead.
