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Step-By-Step Instructions On The Best Way To Clean Your Tongue Dr. Harold Katz Dr. Harold Katz, founder of The California Breath Clinics, is the recognized expert in the fields of bad breath, sour/bitter taste and dry mouth. Dr. Katz is a 1975 graduate of the UCLA School of Dentistry and holder of a separate degree in Bacteriology. After establishing a private dental practice in Beverly Hills, California, Dr. Katz began his own research into the Truth About Bad Breath in 1994, after he was unable to help his own 13 year old daughter with her breath problem. Highly advertised commercial mouthwashes were making her breath more offensive, and despite immaculate oral hygiene (brushing 5-6 times daily with the most popular toothpastes & flossing several times a day), the problem persisted. His background in Bacteriology assisted him in realizing that Bad Breath is caused by a group of Anaerobic Sulfur-Producing Bacteria which breed WITHIN the tongue's surface and throat. Under certain conditions, these bacteria initiate the production of the Volatile Sulfur Compounds found in Bad Breath and Taste Disorders. Bad Breath DOES NOT come from the digestive system, as some highly advertised products falsely claim. Visit http://www.therabreath.com to learn about the TheraBreath product line.

A White Tongue is something that nobody wants to have - not only does a white tongue look abnormal, but left untreated, it's a strong indication of a breath problem. People who have a condition known as geographic tongue are definitely more likely to experience a white tongue. Geographic Tongue simply means a tongue that has lots of grooves and fissures in it - these grooves and fissures make an excellent breeding ground for the anaerobic bacteria that cause bad breath and a white tongue. The way around this problem is simply making sure that your tongue is kept as clean as possible. But not all tongue cleaning is created equal....

Tongue Cleaning (or Tongue Scraping) is a process that the majority of people in the United States don't do on a daily basis. Yet it's one of the most important steps you can take to keep your breath clean and fresh! It's not difficult to do, and it's not even that particularly time consuming. Yet that extra minute or two per day can reap huge rewards in preventing bad breath, and helping to prevent white tongue and return it to its normal color. A healthy tongue should be slightly moist, smooth, and slightly pinkish in color (see image below left). Under certain conditions, a geographic tongue can become coated, off-color (white, yellow, even black), and dry and cracked (see images below).

UNHEALTHY, DRY, COATED TONGUES:

Let me clarify a few things about tongue cleaning:

It's not necessary to scrape hard

I've seen patients make their tongues bleed because they were pressing down so hard. In general, pressing harder does not remove more bacteria. You simply need to press hard enough so that the tongue cleaner contacts your tongue, flush across the cleaning surface. Try not to leave any gaps.

Tongue Cleaning Alone Does Not Prevent Bad Breath

Tongue Cleaning does not kill the bacteria that cause bad breath that are breeding below the surface of a geographic tongue. It simply removes the gunk on the surface of your tongue (mucus and food debris) which are a food source for those anaerobic bacteria. In order to get rid of those anaerobic bacteria (which are responsible for white tongue), you must use an oxygenating toothpaste which can penetrate beneath your tongues surface.

It's not necessary to use one of those complex, expensive gizmos to successfully clean your tongue

Really, all your need is a fairly rigid instrument, that you can easily make flush with the largest amount possible of your tongues surface area. The electronic tongue cleaners you see can be helpful if you have arthritis, difficulty with coordination, or in general have a tough time performing the actions listed below.

Step-By-Step Instructions to Successfully Clean A Geographic Tongue and Prevent White Tongue

Here is an average tongue cleaning from start to finish from one of my patients who volunteered to allow me to take his picture.

1. Starting at the very base of your tongue, place the tongue cleaner flush against your tongues surface and make slow sweeping strokes from back-to-front. Start at either side (left or right) and work your way to the other. Depending on the tongue cleaner you are using, you might need to make 3-4 different 'swaths' across your tongue.


2. Once the surface debris from your tongue has been removed, apply a small bead of TheraBreath Oxygenating Toothpaste to the head of your tongue cleaner


3. Gently coat the suraface of your tongue (as far back as possible without gagging) with the toothpaste. This allows it to penetrate below the surface of your tongue to neutralize those sulfur-producing anaerobic bacteria! There are more bacteria in the rear of your tongue than in the front.


4. Once your tongue is coated, allow the toothpaste to stay on the surface of your tongue as long as you can. Up to 90 seconds is ideal. If you begin to cough, or your gag reflex kicks in, that's ok, just spit whenever you need to.


5. Ideally, it's best to leave the toothpaste on the surface of your tongue, while you brush your teeth normally.

Following this routine daily, gives you the most benefit possible from tongue cleaning. This routine will help prevent white tongue, keep your breath fresh, and give a geographic tongue its best possible chance at maintaining the normal, healthy, pink color that everyone would like to have.

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