Position your toothbrush at the back of the tongue. Brush lightly forward and backward along your tongue. Spit out saliva that appears during the brushing and rinse out the toothbrush with warm water. Clean your tongue as often as you brush your teeth.
There are two tools you can use to clean your tongue: your toothbrush or a tongue scraper, which you can find for cheap in the dental section of most drugstores. It's most effective to clean your tongue after brushing but before rinsing so that there is still some toothpaste residue in your mouth.
To ensure that you keep bacteria and plaque away, it is best to clean your tongue twice a day. A good rule of thumb is to brush or scrape your tongue right after you brush your teeth. Doing it before bed will help reduce the amount of bacteria able to grow, which reduces the chance of morning breath in the morning.
White tongue is the result of an overgrowth and swelling of the fingerlike projections (papillae) on the surface of your tongue. The appearance of a white coating is caused by debris, bacteria and dead cells getting lodged between the enlarged and sometimes inflamed papillae.
A healthy tongue should be pink in color with small nodules called papillae over the surface. Certain medical disorders may cause your tongue to change in appearance, and a color-changing tongue could be your first indication of a severe underlying issue.
While a white tongue often indicates thrush, it can be a sign of another condition. Several oral conditions have similar symptoms to thrush, causing them to sometimes be mistaken for thrush.
Saltwater rinses can be safer alternatives while also killing bacteria and keeping your mouth clean. In addition to stopping bacterial growth, saltwater rinses have other benefits. These include reducing the amount of plaque in your mouth and promoting a safe recovery from dental procedures.
Since bacteria thrive in acidic environments and salt removes water from bacteria via osmosis, swishing with salt water can stop bacterial growth and reduce plaque and inflammation. This reduction in bacteria will reduce your likelihood of getting sick or developing a sore throat, bad breath, cavities, or gum disease.
Bacterial overgrowth on the tongue most commonly causes it. Your tongue may look dark yellow, brown, or black. Also, the papillae may multiply, giving off the “hairy” appearance.
Oral thrush can cause a white or yellow film to form on the tongue and can cause discomfort when eating and drinking. Thrush is caused by an overgrowth of yeast in the mouth, which can be a result of poor oral hygiene, a weakened immune system, or antibiotics.
Your Lifestyle
Everything from dehydration, stress, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and the food you eat can contribute to developing a white film on your tongue. It is now thought that tongue piercings and meat consumption could also be factors in the plaque buildup on your tongue.
What Causes the Tongue to Get So Dirty? The tongue's surface contains thousands of microscopic papillae, also known as taste buds. These microscopic projections capture the residue from food as well as plaque. Therefore, you should scrape your tongue after you brush your teeth.
Brown tongue causes include smoking, drinking a lot of coffee or tea, and poor oral hygiene. If not treated, the nodules can get larger than usual and give the tongue a hairy appearance. This issue is referred to as Black Hairy Tongue.
Light, White Tongue Coating: reflects digestive function. Heavily Coated Tongue: this is caused by excessive pathogenic fluid, which indicates poor digestion. No Coating on Your Tongue: may mean that your body is exhausted and is not producing enough fluids to promote healthy digestion.
We recommend trying foods with known anti-microbial properties, such as chopped onions, garlic, ginger, and coconuts. This will help you to fight the harmful bacteria that resides on your tongue. You might also consider adding iron-rich foods into your diet.
He suggests rinsing with an alcohol-free mouthwash as a way to clean those harder-to-reach areas of the tongue. “We commonly suggest Crest Pro Health or Listerine Total Care Zero,” he says. “These rinses help to control the bacteria from areas one cannot mechanically clean and in your mouth overall.
A saltwater rinse can be performed three to four times a week, but it is important that you don't go beyond this because salt contains sodium, and too much sodium can impact your tooth enamel negatively.
When food particles, bacteria, and debris get trapped in the papillae (the tiny dots on the surface of the tongue), it causes a white coating and an unpleasant smell. Good oral hygiene is the best way to avoid and treat this. Take time to gently clean your tongue with a tongue scraper after brushing your teeth.
Although the appearance of white tongue may be alarming, the condition is usually harmless and temporary. However, white tongue can be an indication of some serious conditions, ranging from infection to a precancerous condition.
Listerine Total Care mouthwash
It is used in addition to brushing, it eliminates up to 99% of the bacteria of the dental plaque at the origin of the white tongue and acts in the places which the brush cannot reach.
Usually it goes away by itself, but sometimes treatment with an antiviral medication can help. It's important to get checked out if you have white patches in the mouth because some types of leukoplakia are considered precancerous. That means they can turn into mouth or tongue cancer.
Leukoplakia appears as thick, white patches on the inside surfaces of your mouth. It has a number of possible causes, including repeated injury or irritation. It can also be a sign of precancerous changes in the mouth or mouth cancer.
Whether you use a tongue scraper, toothbrush, or oral mouth rinse, tongue cleaning is a good addition to your daily oral health practices. Cleaning your tongue once or twice a day may help you reduce bad breath and the risk of cavities as well as contribute to a clean-mouth feeling.