For many people, oral hygiene ends with brushing their teeth. However, cleaning the tongue is also necessary and important. Plaque and bacteria accumulate on it, from which caries develops and an unpleasant odor appears.
Regular cleaning of the tongue helps to avoid diseases such as stomatitis, gingivitis, caries and even periodontitis. Now we will analyze in detail why clean the tongue and how to do it correctly and effectively.
Why do you need to clean your tongue?
Daily tongue care twice a day not only cleans it of bacteria. This cleansing eliminates many problems.
- Prevents the development of caries by preventing microorganisms from producing acid that destroys enamel.
- Removes bad breath, as bacteria do not emit odorous substances.
- Removes plaque - a breeding ground for bacteria.
- Increases the sensitivity of taste buds - a clean tongue brighter senses the shades of flavors of food and drinks.
When caring for the tongue, it is worth remembering that not every plaque is a sign of some kind of problem. There is also healthy plaque, which is easily removed with proper hygiene.
How to clean the tongue?
The most common devices are scrapers. The scraper tips are spoon-shaped. They usually consist of plastic, sometimes with stiff bristles. The flat shape prevents the gag reflex that can occur while brushing the root of the tongue. This scraper needs to be changed every six months.
