Coated Tongues and Bad Breath

What does your coated tongue have to do with bad breath?

Here's the yucky part.  Anaerobic bacteria are found in our mouths, especially at the base of the papillae on our tongues.  As they digest the various bits of food and proteins in the mouth, they produce waste products that build up and create that white tongue coating you can see on your tongue on a bad day.  These waste products include the volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) that are major contributors to bad breath.

Bad breath and a coated tongue go together. This is a fairly easy bad breath remedy if you are willing to make tongue cleaning a regular part of your daily routine.

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How do I clean my tongue?  And am I going to gag?

Well, yep, you might gag a bit.  Practice makes perfect and perfect practice helps a lot.  You will gag less the more you practice. 

Here is how to clean your tongue.  A tongue scraper is much better at cleaning a tongue than a toothbrush. By brushing your tongue, you clean some of the white coating off your tongue, but you also push a lot of it down between the papillae of your tongue rather than getting rid of it.  Using a tongue scraper, gently scrape your tongue from back to front, starting at one side of your tongue and, working your way across your tongue, repeat as many times as it takes to clean your tongue from one side to the other.  More of the white coating develops on the back of the tongue, so it is important to thoroughly clean the back of the tongue to reduce bad breath. At first you may have a bit of a problem with your gag reflex, but the more you practice, the less it will happen. 

It's also important to be gentle when you are using a tongue scraper.  All you need to do is remove the coating on your tongue, you don't have to damage your delicate tongue by being too aggressive.

Now that's a contradiction for you! The remedies for bad breath don't take very long, but you do have to do them from now on. Here is a really quick run down of the top methods of keeping your breath fresh:

Does Toothpaste Help?

Some toothpastes contain chlorine dioxide or zinc, which oxygenate and neutralize the VSCs produced by anaerobic bacteria.  If you put a thin coating of this type of toothpaste on your tongue after cleaning it, you'll really reduce the possibility of bad breath.  You can easily apply it by putting a little bit on your tongue scraper and coating your tongue from as far back as you can manage to the tip.  If you can manage it, leave the toothpaste on your tongue for a minute or two.

When should I clean?

The best times to clean your tongue are before you go to be in the evening and in the morning after you get up.  In the evening you remove much of the food that the bacteria in your mouth would process overnight.  You'll find that morning breath doesn't have to be horrible.  A morning clean-up will take care of the VSCs and any white coating that have accumulated overnight.

Is this just opinion or do I really need to clean my tongue?  

This is Scientific Study stuff.

The results of some very small studies on halitosis and oral hygiene methods was reported by Zbys Fedorowicz,who is a periodontist at the Bahrain Ministry of Health.  Two studies were reviewed and the results indicated that a tongue scraper can effectively help reduce bad breath for a short period of time.  One study reported a 33% reduction in VSCs with brushing teeth and a 40% reduction with tongue scraping.  And the VSC levels remained reduced for longer with tongue cleaning than with using a toothbrush.  A second trial reported that the levels of volatile sulfur compounds was reduced 45% after tooth brushing and 75% after using tongue scrapers.

Even though these were small studies and not scientifically conclusive, the results for the average person like you and me suggest that it is a good idea to use both your toothbrush and a tongue scraper as part of your daily routine to remedy bad breath.

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