Taking Care of Your Tongue: Bad Breath and You

If you have ever noticed a sticky and foul-tasting substance on your tongue, bad breath is probably also present. We all know that taste; it is like a mixture of sour milk and really bad cheese. No one likes it, but you would be surprised at the number of people who view it as an ordinary thing. Believe it or not, a tongue that tastes bad will make your breath smell horrible – and can even be a symptom of something more serious. It is in your best interest to keep your tongue as clean as possible, as I will show in this article.

Let us first look at the tongue itself. Did you know that the tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end? It’s true, as is the fact that your tongue collects more bacteria than anything else in your mouth. Covered in dozens of taste buds, your tongue is used not only in tasting but to help move saliva around in your mouth, which helps your mouth stay clean. Due to its size and central location, as well as its moist surface, your tongue collects an enormous amount of debris, bacteria, and mucus throughout the day.

If you have noticed a white substance on your tongue, then you have seen what is causing your chronic bad breath: bacteria. Specifically, the bacteria live in the substance that coats your tongue and produce volatile sulfur compounds, or VSCs. These compounds put off a pungent odor that definitely is not pleasing to you (or your spouse, significant other, or best friend, for that matter). To find a truly effective bad breath cure, you will have to neutralize or eliminate these compounds.

How do you accomplish this? The first step is to make sure you are brushing and flossing regularly. Doing this helps reduce the chances that negative bacteria will dwell in your mouth – and makes your breath temporarily smell better. (It is good for dental health anyway, so you should already have good oral hygiene.) Then, I recommend buying a specialty tongue-scraper, which is a shaped piece of plastic or metal that is used to lightly and gently scrape the surface of your tongue and remove those compounds and mucus that gathers there. These are not very expensive and are readily available.

You will also need to use a good rinse for your tongue. Just scraping it is not going to fully clean your tongue and prevent bad breath from occurring. You have to destroy the favorable environment for bacteria that exists in your mouth by actively cleaning your mouth and everything inside. This is best accomplished by using a special oral rinse. Therabreath is one example of a product made for tongue cleaning and oral health. Ora Sweet is another. Both are easy to use and are effective in cutting down on that odor that comes from your tongue.

If you maintain a healthy routine for your mouth, scrape your tongue regularly, and use an oral rinse, you will greatly increase your chances of eliminating halitosis for good. Soon you will be able to kiss your partner without them recoiling in disgust – which is always a good thing! So, if you follow these instructions and clean your tongue, bad breath will leave you and never return.