5 Things That Can Happen When You Don’t Brush Your Tongue

Women’s Health has provided some eye opening facts about what may happen when you don’t regularly brush your tongue, read more and find out below:

 1. Bad, VERY, bad breathe

This is called Halitosis medically. How does it happen? The bacteria that you have gathered from talking, eating and drinking water makes a home on your tongue and starts to do what all  bacteria do, they give a foul stench. The odor lurks in the back of the tongue. This is why its important to brush back there if you want to get rid of the nasty funk.

2. Your taste buds become duller

When you don’t brush your tongue, a nasty coating of bacteria, like food particles, and dead skin cells covers up your taste buds, leaving your sense of taste not as sharp as it should be. Get rid of the dead skin cells by brushing  your tongue daily and your taste buds will come back to life again.

3. You can get a black hairy tongue

We cringe just thinking about this! You drink coffee every day, maybe enjoy a glass of Zobo at night, and you never brush your tongue! Your tongue will get stained from all these foods which will give the entire organ a dark and furry appearance. Medically it is harmless, but it produces a very very bad odor and people will stay away from you. Once you start brushing your tongue, it should disappear.

4. Oral yeast infection can happen too

Medically, its called oral thrush. It can happen when the bacteria levels in your mouth get out of hand. This comes from not brushing your tongue regularly, which results in naturally occurring yeast levels in the mouth growing out of control. This is obvious when white patches on the tongue start appearing. This again, is not dangerous to your health. Again, regular brushing of the tongue will clear it and keep it from returning.

5. Periodontal disease

Built up bacteria on the tongue can spread to your teeth, causing gingivitis, or red, inflamed gums. If this is not treated, it can then lead to what is called a periodontal disease. That’s when the gums pull away from the teeth and the space in between becomes infected. Your teeth may fall out, and the chronic inflammation has also been linked to a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, and even miscarriage.

Do you want to prevent any of these terrible things from happening to your tongue? If so, follow these steps on how to properly take care of your tongue:

• Starting at the back of the tongue, gently brush toward the front, then go side-to-side. You don’t have to use toothpaste, but it’ll probably feel more comfortable, and the abrasiveness of toothpaste can help make cleaning more effective. Do it at least once a day for a few minutes at a pop, but ideally you should do it twice.