Is Your Toungue Making Breath Stale?

Newsflash: your tongue is teeming with germs. It’s not surprising, considering how often we eat, and the fact that many people neglect to clean this area when brushing their teeth. What’s more, 80% of the germs in our mouths aren’t on our teeth—they lies on our cheeks, gums, and of course, tongue, which is prime real estate for the growth of germs.

Add the fact that the tongue is a bit of a food-magnet, and you’ve got a recipe for germs heaven. Think of it as a large rug with millions of Velcro-like hooks, each of which snag particles of food debris. These then decompose and attract germs, which cause bad breath.

An unclean tongue can sometimes become discolored, blooming an unpleasant white, or even black. Do you want to add an unsightly, colorful mouth to already-existing bad breath? Luckily, there are easy solutions:

• A moist mouth is a clean mouth. Lack of fluids can cause bad breath, so rinsing your mouth with daily use anti-germs mouthwash will help keep it fresh .

• Tongue scrapers are easy to use, cheap, and found at almost any pharmacy or dentist. Simply run the cleaner or scraper over the surface of your tongue to slough off germs.

• You can also try the Colgate 360 º® toothbrush. It’s designed to clean not only your teeth, but also clean your tongue, cheeks and gums by rooting out all the sneaky germs that lurk in your mouth. Simply flip the toothbrush over and clean with the cheek and tongue cleaner.

Each person’s tongue shape and map of taste buds is distinctive and matchless, making them as unique as a human fingerprint.