You probably think that as long as you brush and floss every day your oral health should be fine. While brushing and flossing is critical for oral health, there are other actions you can take to ensure your teeth and gums remain healthy and avoid bad breath. One of those actions includes scraping your tongue.
Better Dental Health
The reason why you need to brush your teeth every day is so that you can remove harmful plaque. However, bacteria are also capable of building up on your tongue. If too much develops, then you are at an increased risk of having gum disease or receding gums. Scraping your tongue removes bacteria for added protection against these diseases.
Reduced Chance of Halitosis
While halitosis can come from a number of sources, one of the most common is simply a buildup of food and bacteria within your mouth. Brushing helps, but tongue scraping removes bacteria you ordinarily would not get with your toothbrush.
Experience Flavor Better
When bacteria and mucus develop on your tongue, they can block your taste buds and prevent you from fully experiencing the flavor of the food you are eating. This can even lead to false cravings for certain types of unhealthy foods. By opening up your taste buds, you can truly appreciate your meal. This also allows your body to better assimilate food and digest it more effectively.
While at first this may seem like just another thing you have to do in your morning or nightly routine, the benefits are great. It also does not take very long to thoroughly scrape your tongue. Scraping it between five and 10 times is typically all that is needed and you can find a tongue scraper fairly easily by visiting your local pharmacy or seeing your dentist for his or her opinion.
