Brushing One's Tongue

                                                          How to brush your tongue                                             

How to brush your tongue is one of the many things people avoid doing during their routine of brushing their teeth. Many people often brush their teeth every day, which is often important in the maintenance of proper oral health. Most of them though don’t do it well and avoid essential steps that could rid them dental diseases and bad breath.                                                                                                               

A disease called halitosis which refers to chronic bad health has lack of brushing the teeth as one of its causative agent. This is because, apart from the teeth, the tongue also contains bacterial growth which without being kept in check, could lead to rather embarrassing situations. These bacteria in the tongue will eventually cause bad breath, something that can be a nuisance to many people, leading to social stigma.   

All hope is not lost since there is a variety of ways to rid the bad breath and halitosis in general. This is by, only understanding the pros and cons on how to brush your tongue, which is an easy solution to learn.       

The following instructions will be useful in curbing the bacteria found in the tongue and hence avoid bad breath and halitosis. They include the following:

·         Apply a thin-strip of quality toothpaste to a pre-moistened, functional toothbrush.

·         While opening your mouth widely, stick your tongue outside of the mouth while standing in front of a mirror to observe it. Take the toothbrush in and gently place it on the back of your tongue, which is near the throat area. In order to avoid gagging, pull the toothbrush further away from your throat area and try again. Repeat this procedure a number of times until you finally get a place that is comfortable for the placing of the tip of the toothbrush without getting the feeling of gagging. Patience is vital in this step.

·         Press the toothbrush down and pull it forward after achieving the second procedure that prevents gagging. Drag the toothbrush across the whole length of the tongue until its tip.

·         Repeat the 2^nd step and this time, move the brush sideways of the tongue. You may need to spit out excess toothpaste to avoid swallowing it.

·         Continue this way in the above steps until the whole tongue has been scrapped entirely. Rinse the toothbrush and rinse the mouth too. Ensure the water is spit out and not swallowed.