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How often do you brush your tongue when you are brushing your teeth? If the answer is none or rare, chances are that you are setting yourself up for a riot. Not only does it affect your oral health, it can affect your social skills too. Wondering what happens if you don’t brush your tongue?
Well, the answers are quite disturbing and are enough for you to change your mind on things, especially if you haven’t been doing it all this while.
To be fair, it isn’t about how often or when you do it, it is important for one to get it done without any exempts.
What happens if you don’t brush your tongue?
To be fair, the need for brushing your tongue is not an option but a necessity. If you have been struggling to keep your oral health in check, I would suggest that you do look into the options available for better
But, it is also important for you to not skip out on brushing the tongue, mainly because of the fact that it directly affects your oral health for the worse.
If you have been avoiding brushing your tongue, there are a number of factors that could be affecting your oral health and overall health, for that matter.
Let us take a look at some of the concerns, shall we?
1. Bacterial growth
Bacterial growth on the tongue is the maximum in your entire oral cavity. If you have been struggling to keep your immune system in check, the same could actually be because of the persistent bacterial growth on the tongue.
It is important that you do focus on cleaning your tongue every single day because that is what helps in preventing the unnecessary growth of the bacteria in the oral cavity.
If there is uncontrolled growth and division of the bacterial growth, chances are that the same will end up contributing to the constant issue with the infection that many tend to complain about.
Read: Preliminary Study Emphasizes the Importance of Gut Bacteria in Weight Loss
2. Halitosis
Halitosis or bad breath is a condition that is caused because of the persistent concerns of bad oral health.
If you have been inquisitive of the side effects of not brushing your tongue, halitosis is one of the most important one. Not only does it cause the building of the bacterial growth inside the oral cavity, the same has been found to have direct impacts on the constant issues concerning the bad breath.
When you eat food at night, chances are that there could be a residual layer of the germs and the food on the tongue the next morning. Not brushing your tongue has been found to have direct impacts in creating a buildup of the bacteria around the tongue, further causing bad breath.
Read: Metallic Taste In Mouth – Know The Causes And How To Prevent It
3. Reduced sense of taste
Not many realize this but one of the most common effects of not brushing your tongue is the fact that it can impose reduced sense of taste.
This might not seem plausible but researches (R) have found that the people who scraped and brushed their tongue every day reported to have a better sense of taste in comparison to the ones who didn’t.
It has been found to have better impacts in helping assure better distinction among the tastes that you commonly eat. It lets you distinguish better amidst the varying tastes of salty, sweet and even sour.
Read: 14 Remedies To Restore Loss Of Taste And Smell – Regain It The Natural Way!
4. Yeast infection
While majority of the people know of yeast infection affecting the urinary system of a woman, the same has been found to have grave impacts on the overall prospects of your oral health too.
And, one of the most common issues that you are likely to face if you don’t brush your tongue is yeast infection.
This condition is also often termed as oral thrush and can affect your quality of living. Often times, one of the most common signs that you are likely suffering from this condition is showcased by the white patches on the tongue.
It is better that you do brush your tongue on a daily basis and if not possible, you can even opt for the antifungal treatments that can further help with the condition better.
5. Black hairy tongue
It is actually as gross as it sounds. If you have been having a hard time keeping your tongue health in check and lack taking care of the proper hygiene, we would suggest that you do look further into it.
If you are wondering how important is it to brush your tongue, let me just tell you that not doing so will leave you with a black hairy tongue.
This not just looks gross, it also leaves behind constant risks of bacterial growth on the tongue as well.
If you are wondering how it happens, it is mainly when the food residue ends up staining the tongue every single day that it goings without being brushed.
This doesn’t impose any drastic impacts on your health and can even go away once you start brushing your tongue on a regular basis.
Read: 19 Best Home Remedies For Tongue Sore (Blisters) For You To Look Into
6. Bad appearance
As weird as it might sound, one of the answers to what happens if you don’t brush your tongue is the fact that it leaves behind a bad appearance on the tongue.
The constant remnants of the food debris will eventually take a toll on your tongue health and appearance and can even make it uneven in texture.
When you don’t brush your teeth on a daily basis, chances are that the debris will end up creating a layer over the top of your tongue. This is the reason why it is best that you do brush and clean your tongue without any issues as such.
It helps get rid of the thin coating over the tongue and even prevents further worsening of the condition.
7. Periodontal impacts
Periodontal disease, otherwise known as gum disease, in simpler terminology, is a condition that can happen as one of the side effects of not brushing your tongue.
If you have been experiencing inflamed gums that cause pain and discomfort, getting the same checked out can be a good alternative to actually suffering further from the condition.
It is actually very important that you do focus on the cause of the condition, especially when it comes round to the complaints of the pus filled gum diseases, which are often considered a hassle.
Read: 10 Ways To Revive Your Taste Buds – Get A Taste Of The Food Again
What are the benefits of tongue scraping?
When it comes round to the prospects of what happens if you don’t brush your tongue, we have sorted you out with the risks of side effects above.
But, what happens when you actually do scrape and brush your tongue?
This is exactly where the benefits come into play. Given the fact that it has positive benefits on the oral health, let us walk you through some of the most important benefits when it comes to brushing your tongue.
Let us take a look at some of the best ones, shall we?
- Brushing or scraping the tongue helps relieve the risks of bacterial growth and infection
- It keeps the breath fresh
- Also prevents unnecessary oral health diseases
- It keeps your tongue in the best health
How to scrape or brush your tongue?
Much like how there are specific ways of brushing your teeth; the same applies to scraping and brushing your tongue as well.
If you have been having a hard time mastering the same, we have some important insights that we think is worth looking into.
Some of the steps to it include:
- Start by buying a sturdy and good quality tongue scraper
- Make sure that you always wash and wet it before using
- Hold both the ends of the scraper or one end, depending on how it is designed
- Put it flat on the flat and bring down the scraper all across the tongue, scraping the tongue along the way
- Do it with the entire tongue, go back twice if needed
- Once done, rinse your mouth and use a mouthwash
- Following that, just ensure that you clean the scraper completely to ensure it is not dirty
Aside from the professional dental tongue scrapers, some people like to use their toothbrush for the process. While there is nothing wrong with doing that, it is also not the most hygienic option available, which is the reason why it is important that you do find an alternative to the same and use the dental scrapers instead.
For those wondering what happens if you don’t brush your tongue, we have sorted out some of the important side effects. Make sure that you do focus on the ways that would work out for you. It is very important that you practice proper oral hygiene because that is something that further matters.
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