How to Clean Your Tongue

The Ultimate Guide to Cleaning Your Tongue for Better Oral Hygiene

Just brushing and flossing is not all about Maintaining oral health, but cleaning tongue is also very necessary for oral health. A clean tongue  helps in freshening breath and also provides bacteria free mouth. We will discuss the importance clean tongue and effective ways of tongue cleaning.

Why Clean Your Tongue ?

The tongue is a parentage ground for bacteria. Remaining of foods and dead cells sticking to tongue can help in plaque buildup and bad breath. Regularly tongue cleaning can help:

1. Freshen Breath: 

Bacteria gathered on and around tongue causes bad breath if you properly remove these bacteria and clean tongue, this step will help you to get ride bad breath and obtain the fresh and odor free breath.

2. Reduce Bacteria: 

Cleaning tongue means you are removing food particles and bacteria and lowering the chances of tooth decay and oral infection.

3. Improve Taste: 

A clean tongue gives full opportunity to taste buds to perform their function properly. It will increase your tasting ability.

How to Clean Your Tongue ?

Tongue cleaning is not a difficult task. Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Choose a Tongue Cleaner: 

There are different types of tongue cleaners available in the market. Tongue cleaners contains scrapers and brushes. You can choose and buy tongue cleaner according to your priorities.

2. Prepare Your Mouth: 

Use toothpaste and tooth brush to clean you teeth as you usually do. This will assist you in loosing debris on the surface of tongue.

3. Use the Tongue Cleaner: 

Bring the tongue out of your mouth as much it is possible. Then hold the cleaner and place it on tongue and simply drag it from back towards the tip.

4. Repeat as Needed: 

Continue the cleaning of tongue through cleaner until you find it clean. When you don’t observe the presence of yellowish or white film on the cleaner, its mean your tongue is clean and you should stop cleaning it.

5. Rinse Your Mouth: 

After finishing the tongue cleaning procedure, rinse your mouth with fresh water properly to remove the remaining bacteria and debris.

6. Clean Your Tongue Cleaner: 

After using always clean your tongue cleaner with warm water and antibacterial liquids available in the market to uproot the bacteria.

Tips for Effective Tongue Cleaning:

• Clean your tongue once in a day.

• Don’t press the cleaner to much to avoid the tongue injury.

• Clean the back of tongue also to remove bacteria.

Tongue Cleaning is very important and vital in oral health maintenance. If you clean your tongue regularly it will help you in reducing bad breath, improving taste and lowering the risk of oral diseases. Use the tools and procedure discussed in previous paragraph to get clean and healthy tongue and oral health.

Frequently Asked Questions About Tonque Cleaning

Why should I clean my tongue?

Cleaning tongue is necessary for maintaining oral health. If you  remove bacteria, food particles, and dead cells from tongue surface that means you are achieving the success against bad breath, cavities and other oral diseases.

 How often should I clean my tongue ?

Clean your tongue at least once in a day and if it is possible you can do this practice in morning and evening.

What tools can I use to clean my tongue ?

Use a tongue cleaner containing scraper or brush, very effective tool for removing debris from the surface of the tongue.

 Can I use my toothbrush to clean my tongue ?

Obviously you can use toothbrush if it has a built-in tongue cleaner, otherwise use the bristles of toothbrush moving towards tip from back.

Should I use mouthwash after cleaning my tongue ?

If you use mouthwash after doing the practice of tongue cleaning, it will help you in killing the remaining bacteria and overall cleaning of oral area.

Are there any risks associated with cleaning my tongue ?

Tongue cleaning gently and softly is safe. But when you use cleaner aggressively then there be chances of minor or major injuries. If you feel discomfort than then stop cleaning.

Can cleaning my tongue help with bad breath ?

Absolutely, tongue cleaning procedure removes the food particles and bacteria and these two are main elements contributing in bad breath.

Should I clean my tongue if it looks clean already ?

If you observe your tongue clean, there can also be the presence debris and bacteria on tongue. Clean your tongue regularly even if it looks clear in appearance.

Is there a specific technique for cleaning the tongue effectively ?

Hold the tongue cleaner with both hands and start from the back and bring smoothly and gently towards the tip or front of tongue. Don’t be so aggressive while tongue cleaning.

Can I clean my tongue with just water ?

You can rinse your mouth with water and remove some bacteria and debris. Special designed tongue cleaner are many times more effective than water swish.

Should I clean my tongue before or after brushing my teeth ?

It is general recommendation to clean your tongue after flossing and brushing so that you can remove all debris and bacteria properly.

Can children clean their tongues too ?

Obviously children can and should clean tongue in the supervision of their elders to avoid any kind of mishap during tongue cleaning.

Should I clean the entire surface of my tongue, including the back ?

Yes you should clean your tongue from both front and back sides to remove all the debris and bacteria sticking on the surface.

Can I over clean my tongue ?

Clean your tongue regularly but over cleaning can cause injury or irritation. Avoid aggressiveness and stick to gentle tongue cleaning.