Take care of your tongue: brush it!
Take care of your tongue: brush it!
Brushing your teeth is a daily routine that helps maintain healthy oral hygiene. However, thorough brushing doesn't just involve the teeth themselves; it involves the entire mouth, including the tongue. Yet, the tongue is often overlooked when brushing, and wrongly so. Here's how to gently care for your tongue.
This article is part of a broader theme, which is dental hygiene. We have an article that covers this topic in a comprehensive manner: dental hygiene
The language
The tongue is one of our most useful and therefore essential organs since it allows us to swallow, speak, taste and chew food. Indeed, this small, elongated and mobile piece of flesh that shelters our mouth is filled with nervous tissue and especially papillae that allow us to distinguish and appreciate or not the taste of the different foods that we eat (salty, sweet, sour, bitter or umami). All these missions, especially those concerning food, bring it into contact with a large number of bacteria that attach to it as they attach to teeth. The fact is that these residual bacteria can be the cause of cavities and are responsible for bad breath, among other things.
Bad breath
Bad breath, also known as "halitosis" in more scientific terms, is most often caused by the accumulation of bacterial deposits on the teeth, gums, and tongue, which can be caused by several factors such as smoking, stress, and especially diet. These factors cause the formation of a tongue coating made of bacteria that decompose and produce tiny volatile and smelly sulfurous bodies. A thorough brushing of the mouth, especially the tongue, can help get rid of them.
Brushing
Brushing should be gentle to avoid micro-lesions that could appear on the tongue, as well as the pain that could follow. Therefore, favor brushes with soft heads that will allow you to clean both your gums and your tongue without damaging them. Once you have your brush in hand, make sure to keep your tongue as still as possible and make a movement from back to front to remove bacteria. The movement should be carried out on 2/3 of the tongue, the last third being very sensitive since it is close to the throat and likely to cause unpleasant swallowing reflexes. Repeat the operation for about a minute, until the visible part of the tongue turns pink or until the bad breath problem is resolved. It is possible to soak the head of your toothbrush in an antiseptic or bicarbonate solution to amplify the antibacterial effect of brushing. However, be careful not to overuse this option because you risk damaging your taste buds and thus altering their effectiveness (reduced taste abilities). Finally, don't forget that your gums, your palate and the inside of your cheeks are also areas that harbor bacteria. You can therefore brush them gently and regularly, using a mouthwash can complement your exemplary brushing. These practices will help you effectively fight bad breath as well as cavities and periodontal disease for an impeccable and perfectly healthy mouth.
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We obviously have several articles that cover this topic in more detail:
The importance of brushing your teeth twice a day
How long should you brush your teeth?
How to maintain your toothbrush
How to brush your teeth properly
We also wrote an article on how to avoid bleeding gums right here: Bleeding Gums
Our specific article on the benefits of dental flossing right here: dental floss
We wrote an article on how to make your own mouthwash: Making Your Own Mouthwash
If you are interested in this subject, discover our more specific articles: