10 tips for better tongue hygiene

Experts say the tongue’s condition speaks volumes about one’s hygiene consciousness and also reveals one’s health status.

Clean Your Tongue Daily — Cleaning your tongue daily should be a natural part of your everyday oral health care routine, along with brushing, flossing, and rinsing.

Here are tips that will help you to keep you tongue clean:

1. Clean the tongue on a regular basis to prevent bacteria from growing. You can use toothbrushes designed for cleaning the tongue or the ones which have an attachment on the reverse side of it. Don’t use the front part (the one you use for brushing teeth) to clean the tongue.

2. Another way is to scrape your tongue with a thoroughly washed tongue-cleaner or scraper. While scraping, don’t apply too much pressure. Scrape it in a downward motion at least two to three times. If the pressure is too much you may hurt your tongue.

3. You can use toothpaste to coat your tongue before scraping. Toothpaste neutralizes bacteria on tongue and helps to remove them easily.

4. Rinse your mouth with water thoroughly after scraping.

5. Occasionally, you can use a mouth wash after scraping. Mouth wash can help to remove the bad odour caused by deposition of bacteria on the tongue. But don’t use it daily as it may cause over drying of mouth.

6. You can also rinse your mouth with saline water. Take a half glass of lukewarm water and pour a half teaspoon of salt in it. Rinse your mouth four to six times a day with it.

7. Drinking green tea can help to eliminate oral bacteria.

8. Avoid eating foods such as black grapes and berries. These foods can also be the culprits for unwanted colour on your tongue.

9. If you have a high fever, a white layer may get to form on the top of the tongue. It can be removed by regular cleanup, but if that can’t be done, it may be a fungal infection. There are ointments for such cases to keep the tongue clean.

10. Drink loads of water, about 2 – 3 liters daily. Sometimes dehydration can cause changes in the colour of the tongue.

Reference

www.thehealthsite.com