You probably take your time cleaning your teeth every day but do you ever think about your tongue. The tongue is vital to speech and swallowing, but it should also be part of your overall dental plan.
When you clean your mouth, you just can’t think about your teeth. You also need to think about your gums, cheeks, and tongue. We’ll examine why you need to clean your tongue and the best ways to go about doing it.
Your Tongue Gets Dirty Too
Your mouth is filled with bacteria and brushing helps clean it from your teeth, but your tongue and other areas are still teeming with them. The tongue has small hairs that collect bacteria and dead skin before being covered in mucus.
This can cause bad breath and eventually, the trapped particles can escape and then redeposit on the teeth and gums. This could lead to plaque, cavities and gum disease.
How Do I Clean My Tongue
Your tongue is important for countless reasons. It helps you taste your food and moves food in your mouth so you can eat it. It helps you create words for talking and helps with swallowing. You need to take care of it and cleaning it regularly is part of good tongue care.
When it comes to frequency, brush your tongue every time you brush your teeth. It should wait until you’ve brushed your teeth and gently scrubbing your tongue and cheek areas with the toothbrush.
If you don’t want to use a toothbrush, they do have a scrapper that you run over your tongue that and remove the mucus layer along with bacteria and debris.
Be Careful of Sensitivity
If you’re cleaning your tongue and it becomes sore or sensitive, then you are probably rubbing the toothbrush too hard. You should switch to a scrapper if the brush continues to make your tongue sore.
Many people also have difficulty if they have an overactive gag reflex. If this is you, then don’t go far back when cleaning your tongue or you can use breathing to settle the gag reflex.
When it’s time for your tooth checkup, let Dr. Ed and his staff provide you with top-quality care.