Your tongue can reveal a lot about your health. When you go to a doctor for your check-up and he asks you to stick out your tongue, he is not only checking your throat, but also assessing your tongue.
When a doctor looks at your tongue, he also look for any changes in the tongue’s surface or how it moves. This can shows issues in the mouth itself, as well as the state of your overall health and immunity.
According to doctors and health experts, cleaning your tongue twice a day can help you check how your tongue looks and feels and improve your breath. Tongue plays a crucial role in eating, talking and other vital functions.
A healthy tongue is pink although the shade may vary from person to person, ranging from dark to light pink. A small amount of white coating can be normal. However, too much changes or discolouration may indicate a disease or other issues.
Is your tongue normal?
While cleaning your tongue, you should always check for abnormal signs and changes. If you observe any changes and they worry you, you should consult a doctor immediately. Here’s what your tongue might be telling you:
- White coating: One of the most common changes is the development of white coating on the tongue. This can happen if you stop brushing or scraping the tongue, even for a few days. A white coat on the tongue means food debris and microbes have accumulated and caused plaque. Regular tongue scrapping will help in getting rid of this coating.
- Yellow coating: Yellow coating on your tongue may indicate oral thrush, a fungal infection. This phenomenon is common among elderly people who take multiple medications or have diabetes. It can also affect children and young adults after an illness, due to the temporary suppression of the immune system or antibiotic use. If develop yellow coating, you can consult a doctor and he will prescribe a course of anti-fungal medication for at least a month.
- Black coating: When you consume too many strong-coloured food products such as tea and coffee, or dishes with turmeric, it can cause a furry appearance. This is known as a black hairy tongue. It’s not hair, but an overgrowth of bacteria which may indicate poor oral hygiene.
- Pink patches: Pink patches, also known as geographical tongue, occurs when get pink patches surrounded by a white border. It is not known what is the cause of this condition and it doesn’t require any medical attention.
- Pain and inflammation: You may develop pain and inflammation in your tongue due to a wide variety of issues like nutritional deficiencies such as folic acid or vitamin B12, diseases including pernicious anaemia, Kawasaki disease and scarlet fever, Burning Mouth Syndrome, etc.
- Dryness: Dry mouth, also known as xerostomia, can be caused by many medications like antidepressants, anti-psychotics, muscle relaxants, pain killers, antihistamines and diuretics. If your mouth is very dry, it may hurt.
How to clean your tongue?
It takes around 10-15 seconds to clean your tongue properly. You can clean your tongue by gently scrubbing it with a regular toothbrush. This will help in removing any food debris and help prevent microbes building up on its rough textured surface.
You can also use specialised tongue cleaner or scrapper to clean your tongue. It is noteworthy that cleaning your tongue can help you in getting rid of bad breath. Tongue scrapers are particularly effective at removing the bacteria that commonly causes bad breath which are hidden in the tongue’s surface.