Tongue Cleaning

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Recently there has been more and more attention paid to the tongue and the need to keep it clean and healthy.  Bacteria forms on your tongue and at the back of your mouth, creating sulpher based compounds that can attack your teeth and gums.  This can be a large contributor of bad breath as unlike bacteria formed around the teeth, bacteria on the tongue is rarely washed away.  Many people overlook the tongue, however it is just as important to keep clean as your teeth.  Tongue cleaning removes any dead cells, bacteria and any remaining food debris, so helping to eliminate the factors behind bad breathe.  Mostly bad breathe is caused by something within the mouth, generally bad standards of oral hygiene are the cause.  If you are finding that you have a problem with bad breathe then cleaning your tongue has been proven to help reduce this. 

Method/Technique for Tongue Cleaning

You need to ensure that you have the right equipment to do so.  Many pharmacists stock tongue cleaning tools, and they aren’t very expensive.  They are generally a similar shape to a toothbrush and have a scraper type surface.  You can use a normal toothbrush, and many modern toothbrushes now have a tongue scraper on the other side to the brush.

• Run the tool across the surface of your tongue.  This removes dead cells, debris and bacteria which can be seen as a film builds up on your scraper.  Don’t press down too hard.  The scraper will remove matter alone and you shouldn’t apply too much pressure. 
• Remove any residue on your tool and continue to repeat the action.
• Afterwards make sure that you rinse your mouth to wash out any remaining substances from your mouth. 

You must clean your tongue as well as brushing and flossing your teeth.  Merely cleaning your tongue will not eliminate bad breath, as bacteria forms in other areas of the mouth as well. 

If you regularly clean your tongue as well as flossing and brushing your teeth then it can help to prevent any bad breathe and keep your mouth healthy.  It is essential that you don’t neglect your teeth. 

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