A lot of information, resources and education go into brushing your teeth and flossing those teeth twice a day. This is an excellent starting routine for oral health. But there is so much more to oral care then just the teeth.
Think about all the parts of your mouth: oral cavity, gums, teeth and the tongue.
But what about that huge muscle in your mouth, your tongue?
In order to take your care from excellent to optimal you need to incorporate cleaning your tongue thoroughly. This should be included as part of your regular dental routine. Tongue cleaning can leave you feeling even more refreshed.
Discover how cleaning your tongue can improve your breath and gain tips on simple tongue cleaning techniques.
Why Should You Clean Your Tongue?
Your mouth is home to millions of bacteria. While daily brushing and flossing is a great way to clean your teeth and improve your mouth's overall health, it doesn't remove the bacteria that collects on your tongue. This bacteria can produce volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), leading to bad breath, also associated with certain health issues.
How to Clean Your Tongue
The easiest way to clean your tongue is with a tongue scraper. A tongue scraper is firm, flexible tool that gently peels away the thin layer of debris and mucus-like coating from your tongue.
How to Clean Your Tongue with a Tongue Scraper
After you floss and brush your teeth grab your tongue scraper. Your tongue can be sensitive, so start gently do not press the cleaner too forcefully. Once you are a tongue scraping professional you can start pushing harder and scraping more frequently.
Follow these tips for cleaning your tongue easily and quickly:
1. Place your gunkii tongue scraper at the back of the tongue and pull it forward to the front of your tongue.
2. Repeat this motion multiple times at different angles.
3. Rinse the tongue scraper each time you use it to keep it sanitary and gunk free.
How Often Should I Clean My Tongue?
Bacteria grow fast. Really fast!
The best way to reduce the number of bacteria in your mouth is to clean your tongue twice daily after brushing your teeth. Removing that debris from your tongue before you go to bed can also help reduce bad morning breath and bad breath throughout the day.
Making a habit of cleaning your entire mouth, including your tongue, will keep your breath fresh and keep your mouth healthy.
You have nothing to lose but the gunk.