Believe it or not, one of the most common mistakes dental patients make when brushing their teeth is forgetting about or don’t know how to clean the tongue.
This muscle – the strongest in the body, responsible for many functions like speaking or swallowing- is also a breeding ground for tons of bacteria.
Keeping the tongue clean is as crucial for oral health as brushing the teeth. Plus, a filthy tongue is a common cause of halitosis, AKA: bad breath! Nobody wants to be remembered for having a smelly mouth…
So, how to clean your tongue correctly? Well, here are three proven methods for you to practice
3 proven methods for cleaning your tongue
Out of these three, we could say that just one is considered sufficient by itself. The other two are more complementary. One is stronger, and the second, more of a support.
Let’s look at them, and don’t worry; you probably already know most of them!
Brushing the tongue
Just like how it does with your teeth, a dental brush is a powerful tool for cleaning your whole mouth. How to clean your tongue with a toothbrush? Easy peasy.
After you brush your teeth, add a drop of toothbrush and move the brush from the back part of your tongue to the front. Once you’ve gone over the whole surface, rinse your mouth with water and check in the mirror…
Pink smooth tongue is a check!
Even when the brush is powerful, it may still not be enough for cleaning the tongue at once.
If you check and there’s still yellow or white debris, try again. Or, if they’re just a few remnants or lost debris, compliment with the second method.
Mouthwash rinse
Mouthwash rinse by itself is not sufficient for cleaning the tongue properly. While it may take away superficial or loose bacteria, the one in the sticky debris would survive.
Mouthwash rinse is a proven method for cleaning the tongue when combined with brushing (which takes away most of the debris and loses the rest) or the following proven method.
Nevertheless,
Mouthwash is still a vital part of the mouth cleaning process if you want your oral hygiene to be always at its best and prevent tooth decay.
Tongue scrapers
An innovative tool created to excel in oral hygiene and prevent health issues, the tongue scraper is considerably effective for tongue cleaning. A couple of studies prove that it offers the best results in combating bad breath coming from the tongue.
The best part of this device is that it is highly intuitive, so how to clean your tongue won’t be a problem.
To use a scrapper for cleaning your tongue, all you have to do is stick your tongue out and start scraping to the front. Then, naturally, you rinse to get the residues gone, and voilá! Tongue clean as a whistle.
Now you don’t have to be worried about cleaning your tongue; you just have to get your tools and get it done! You’ll love the freshness of your mouth after you do!
