I can never recall a dentist ever telling me to clean my tongue. This does not make sense when the tongue typically harbours more harmful bugs than anywhere else on or in the body.
Pathogenic yeast, fungi and bacteria produce acids which leach calcium from the teeth - "tooth decay on steroids", you could say.
These bugs also produce foul-smelling gases - better known as bad breath or halitosis.
Think of the thick mat of bugs that carpet the tongue as the "Mother-Lode" for chronic infections. The tongue is constantly shedding millions of bugs that go on to infect the gums, the tonsils and more. Every time the person with a dirty tongue swallows, harmful bugs are being ingested to infect the gut rigth through to the anus. Coughing and sneezing deliver these bugs to the lungs, the sinuses and even into the inner ears.
In my sphere of interest, the prerequisite to a good kiss is a clean tongue!
When I'm enveloped in the waft from a Vaper, while walking downtown, I worry about what harmful bugs are contained in those thousands of vaping droplets that I am now involuntarily inhaling deep into my lungs- yuk!
The message is simple and very clear: clean your tongue twice a day as well as brushing and flossing your teeth.
The benefits can be enormous:
Thousands saved on treating dental decay and gum disease.
No more bad breath.
Fewer respiratory and inner ear infections.
Better digestion - fewer gut-health issues.
More energy and vitality.
Being highly and desirably kissable.
There is plenty of evidence that infected gums are associated with increased heart disease risk.
Bad Breath
If you suffer bad breath, cleaning your tongue along with flossing and brushing will do the job in most cases. If not then consider the following:
Reduce or stop snacking between meals and stop tea, coffee and other hot drinks.
If you consume a milk product, brush and rinse out the residue, or eat an apple to prevent any fermenting in the mouth.
Breathe through your nose and not your mouth.
Do you wake up in the morning with a dry mouth? If you do, then you are breathing through your mouth while asleep. Consult me for possible remedies or Glen White, the Buteyko Breathing expert.
Please read my article here about how to clean your tongue: