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Everything you need to know about keeping your tongue healthy. Many people concentrate on keeping their teeth healthy, but we must know that a healthy tongue is equally important for us. The tongue helps us to speak, swallow, chew, and of course, enjoy different tastes with its taste buds. We should never forget that tongue carries numerous bacteria which is harmful to our oral health. Therefore, it is essential to keep our tongue healthy.
Here are some tips to keep the tongue clean and healthy.
1. Clean your tongue with scraper or tongue cleaner every day.
2. The tongue can collect bacteria so if we do not clean our tongue, we can experience some changes like bad odour, taste and color of the tongue. It is necessary to clean your tongue at least twice a day. In the market, tongue scrapers are available which are flexible, made up of soft plastic and are in different shapes and sizes. Scraping of the tongue should be done in a downward motion. Make sure you are scraping your tongue under light pressure otherwise you can get sores or ulcers f you scrape too hard. Now, some brushes, both manual or power toothbrushes also have additional features to clean the tongue.
3. Rinse your tongue properly
4. Each time you clean your tongue, you need to clean scraper under warm water to remove the bacteria thoroughly. Then gargle with warm water to rinse the tongue well.
5. Keep your tongue hydrated.
6. Dehydration of tongue can become the home for countless bacteria. Saliva is a natural way of removing the bacteria from our mouth. So, less saliva is always harmful to our oral health. It can cause tooth decay, bad breath and many more problems. You need to drink around two liters of water in a day. If you feel your saliva is not enough and you feel dry mouth, you should consult a doctor. The doctor will prescribe some mouth wash or medicine to keep your mouth wet.
7. You also can chew sugar free gums to encourage the production of saliva that can reduce the acid harmful to oral health. Sugar-less gums contain xylitol which helps to moisturize the tongue.
8. Healthy diet.
9. The tongue is a muscle just like other muscles. So a healthy diet is essential to keep your tongue strong. Eat food which has anti-microbial properties like onion, garlic, ginger or coconuts. These will help to diminish the bacteria which are adherent to the tongue. Iron reach food is also beneficial for tongue health so you can add spinach, seed food to your diet.
10. Drinking Green tea is the best option to reduce tongue bacteria. It can help to kill the odour-causing bacteria.
11. Avoid smoking.As we all know smoking is always dangerous for our oral cavity, it is extremely harmful to our tongue also. Smokers can get tongue cancer. Smoking can develop craters on the tongue which Makes speaking painful Eventually, these craters change taste buds permanently, making them flatter, removing your ability to enjoy taste of your food. Quitting of smoking always helps you to maintain health of Your tongue and mouth.
12. Check for the color of the tongue. It is important to monitor tongue color as tongue color can be used to examine the state of your health. Pink color with a little white coating is the normal color of the tongue.
However, definite white color means the tongue is dehydrated or has fungal infection
1. Oral thrush is a yeast infection that develops in the mouth. That also shows whitish looks on the tongue. Leukoplakia leads white patches on the tongue and in the mouth. Whereas lichen planus has a network of white lines on the tongue.
2. Pale tongue color indicates the deficiency of vitamins.
3. The bright red color of the tongue is the warning sign for infection and blood or heart disorders.
4. Folic acid and vitamin B-12 deficiency may also cause the reddish appearance of the tongue.
5. In case of trauma, when you accidentally bite your tongue, you can see some sores on the tongue. Grinding or clenching teeth can also irritate sides of the tongue.
Visit your doctor if you observe any of the changes in your tongue
1. Observe for the Tongue ulcers.Tongue ulcer has many reasons. It can be because of deficiency of vitamins. Constipation, high acidity can also cause ulcers in the mouth. Tongue injury, tongue biting or sharp teeth edges are also responsible for tongue ulcers. You should visit your dentist in such cases. The doctor will help you by prescribing the vitamin medicines along with gel to heal ulcers.
2. Regular visit to the best dentist near you.
3. Sometimes, you cannot observe any change in the mouth, but your doctor can observe. The doctor can advise for some medications or treatments. So regular visits will surely help to maintain your oral hygiene.