White Tongue

Do you stick your tongue out when you are looking in the mirror? Have you noticed that sometimes your tongue is white? A white tongue is an indicator of a bad breath problem. If you consistently have a white tongue, then you probably, also have a geographic tongue.

A geographic tongue is often dry and cracked with a lot of grooves and fissures in it. Any crack, groove, fissure or hollow inside your mouth makes an excellent breeding ground for anaerobic bacteria. Anaerobic bacteria are the cause of a white tongue, bad breath and halitosis.

Not only is a white tongue socially unacceptable, because of the associated bad breath, but also a serious health hazard for your gums, teeth and jaw.

We often hear about false tongue cleaning procedures. For instance, there are electronic tongue cleaners on the market that claim they are the only way to clean a tongue. That of course is false. Electronic devices may be okay to use if you are unable to hold a tongue scraper because of arthritis or similar ailment. They are not more efficient at cleaning tongues.

Some people suggest that scraping the tongue hard is the only way to clean it. Again this is false. Scraping your tongue too hard will only cause cuts and bleeding and open cuts are themselves new breeding places for anaerobic bacteria.

When a scraper is pressed too hard on the tongue, it will only flatten the surface of the tongue and not remove debris or bacteria from the cracks and fissures.

Cleaning your tongue is as important as brushing your teeth and gums and should be part of your oral hygiene. Tongue cleaning only with a scraper will not stop bad breath because it does not kill the anaerobic bacteria. Tongue scraping removes all the sticky mucus and food debris from the surface of the tongue. A tongue cleaning technique is necessary to remove bacteria from the tongue.

How to Clean a White Tongue and Remove Bad Breath

1 - The first step is to remove the mucus and debris from the surface of the tongue. Place the scraper at the back of the tongue and gently scrape forward. Starting at one side of the tongue and working across the tongue with each stroke.

2 - The second step is to rinse the mouth of any loose debris and then apply amount of toothpaste to the head of the tongue cleaner and gently coat the surface of the tongue as far back as you can without gagging. The further back you can go, the better because that is where most of the bacteria is forming. By gently rubbing the toothpaste into the tongue, it penetrates into the surface neutralizing the bacteria.

3 - In the third step, you will leave the toothpaste on your tongue while you brush your teeth and rinse as normal.

This three-step procedure only adds another minute or two to your regular teeth brushing routine. Following this routine will prevent you from suffering from white tongue keeping it pink and healthy while maintaining fresh breath.