As cheesy as it may sound, your mouth wouldn’t be complete with your
tongue. It is reason you can talk and why you can differentiate the good food
from the ones that tastes bad. Can you imagine living without one? That would
be unspeakable!
Ditch that though and save your tongue a lot of trouble by taking note
of these things:
Tongues need cleaning
Your tongue needs caring as much as your teeth and gums. After all, it’s
part of your mouth, and therefore also gets filthy from all the food, drink and
whatever things you put on it. Because it is used constantly, your tongue,
which is covered in papillae, the little bumps on its surface, traps germs and
harbor a variety of bacteria species on it. These nasty organisms on the tongue
can cause bad breath and even affect you sense of taste. Furthermore,
overabundance of bacteria may discolor your tongue, turning it white, yellow,
or black and hairy-looking. Yuck!
Make it a habit that you include your tongue each time you do your
brushing and try to reach until the back. It may trigger a gag reflex, but it
will ease up in due course.
Some tongues need special care
A coated and crusty tongue may represent a person’s problems with mouth
breathing, physical dexterity, or taking medications that dry the mouth. To
risk damaging your mouth’s tissue, brush or scrape it after cleansing your
teeth. Or keep it moist for 10 to 15 minutes with a mouth-moisturizing gel or
spray first before scrubbing it clean.
Tongues can get cancer
Stick your tongue out and check for signs of oral cancer in front of a
mirror at least once a week. Oral cancer appears as a sore or growth in the
mouth. You should look out for white or red patches or cuts in your mouth that
do not heal after a few weeks, as well as for any skin changes, or swelling or
thickening on the tongue, lips, or gums.
During regular dental check-up, make it a point that your dentist in
gives your tongue a once-over to ensure you’re free from oral cancer and other
tongue problems like soreness and discoloration.
Tongue piercings hurt your mouth
Because the mouth is already loaded with germs and bacteria, the risk of
tongue piercing or lip piercing infection is higher in this area than on any
part of the body. Plus, the act of tongue-piercing itself is known to damage
the nerves of your tongue causing an altered sense of taste or permanent
drooling.
If you are still intent on having your tongue pierced, make certain that
your dentist has informed you of ways on how to manage them to avoid any
possible complications and that you let an experienced artist do it for you.
Your tongue is unique
Similar to a finger imprint, your tongue is one of a kind. No other
tongue in the world has the same imprints as yours. How fascinating is that?
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