Your tongue is not smooth. It has crevices and uneven surfaces, making it the perfect target for biofilm and its bacteria. If you brush twice a day and floss once a day, you may not be cleaning your mouth as well as you could. Whether tongue brushing is it to prevent bad breath or for just good oral health, brushing your tongue should be added to your oral care regimen.
Does your Tongue Turn Colors?
Your tongue is covered with biofilm. Biofilm is your saliva mixed with a group of microorganisms that stick together living in your mouth, especially your tongue. Remember when you were a kid and had a raspberry popsicle at the beach? You had a red tongue. It took forever to go away, didn’t it? It’s the same today with the red wine at dinner. It’s the biofilm on the tongue that turns red and stays red for a long time. Because this is such sticky bacteria, a mouth rinse isn’t enough to blast away that mess. Mouth wash only destroys the outer cells of the biofilm. The sections below the surface are still present, so you have to physically remove the biofilm from your tongue.
Brushing your Tongue May Protect You from COVID-19
And, recently, scientists are thinking that if you brush your tongue daily you may stave off COVID-19. That would be worth it!
How to Brush your Tongue Using your Toothbrush
Brush gently side to side
Brush back and forth
Rinse with water or a rinse
Don’t Overdo it
Don’t overdo the brushing-you don’t want to break the skin of the tongue. That would be like scraping your tongue on a sharp potato chip. If you’re a gadget person, you may prefer a tongue scraper. You can get them at most Drugstores.