The tongue works along with the teeth, lips and mouth to chew, help us taste and swallow the food we consume. Since it comes in contact with so many different substances over the course of a single day such as aerated beverages, foods that could possibly be contaminated or even unclean water – this is one of the foremost sites of infection of the human body. Therefore keeping the tongue clean is of primary importance. Aside from the help is provides with the digestive system, the tongue also plays an important role in helping us diagnose medical problems that exist in organs associated with the digestive tract. This is the primary reason that whenever you visit a doctor for a medical check up – they are likely to inspect your tongue and its coloration to identify the kind of ailment that you are suffering from. A white coating over the tongue is extremely common and can be caused by a number of reasons. It could be the result of the buildup of dead skin cells that occurs when the tongue has not been exfoliated properly, or even as a result of dehydration during the summer months, if inadequate levels of water are being consumed. Oral thrush or a fungal infection of the mouth is another very common occurrence due to improper oral hygiene. This could possibly lead to a weakened immune system.
First and foremost, you may need to get rid of any dead skin cells that are present on the upper layers of the skin by using your toothbrush to exfoliate the area. This will allow the newer, healthier skin cells to come to the fore and make your tongue look normal. However, you must make sure that you do not apply too much pressure on the tongue as it may cause bleeding. Once done, rinse your mouth with a little warm water and repeat this exercise regularly for best results. Tongue scrapers are known to be the most effective instruments used when it comes to cleaning the human tongue. It is a plastic strip that you need to fashion into a loop to place around your tongue. When the tongue is secured within the loop, you pull the loop out of the mouth. You will notice that it tends to remove a significant amount of debris from the mouth. You should then wash your mouth with a spoon of salt mixed into a cup of warm water.