Brushing your teeth is a good habit that we have since childhood, the problem is when we grow up with bad habits, such as the wrong brushing technique or for example, they teach us that we should brush our tongues but not how to scrape it.

What is tongue scraping? This is an oral hygiene practice that removes bacteria, food debris, fungi, toxins, and dead cells from the surface of the tongue.

Dental research has concluded that a tongue scraper is more effective at removing toxins and bacteria from the tongue than a toothbrush. Although brushing and flossing will loosen and move debris around, they do not actually remove the bacteria. Almost half of our oral bacteria live on and in the crevices of our tongue; the action of a tongue scraper collects these toxic tongue coatings (which can range in color from clear, white, yellow, or green) and removes them from the body.

If you are still not convinced we show you 5 reasons why you should scrape your tongue:

1.- Halitosis is awful.

Bad breath can have a negative impact on a person’s life, relationships, and self-esteem. Most bad breath comes from the bacteria at the back of the tongue (an area that’s difficult to reach with a toothbrush), clinical studies have shown that tongue scraping significantly reduces and removes oral bacteria from the crevices of all areas the tongue.

2.- Flavors of your food.

If you don’t take steps to remove toxic mucus on the tongue, your taste buds can become blocked. This may lead to false cravings or an inability to recognize the taste of food. Removing build-up from the surface of your tongue will open up its pores and better expose your taste buds, allow for greater enjoyment of food flavors, and help your body digest and assimilate food.

3.- Boost your immunity.

The tongue is part of the first line of defense in your immune system. Scraping your tongue prevents toxins from being reabsorbed into your body and boosts overall immune function.

4.- Problems with dental health.

Your hygiene routine is very important, scraping your tongue promotes general oral health and removes bacteria and toxins responsible for plaque build-up, gum infections, and gum recession.

5.- Improve your digestive health.

Proper digestion is considered to be the foundation of health. Given that digestion begins with taste, it’s important to remove any toxins that may obstruct optimal functioning. Scraping also activates saliva production to help with digestion throughout the day.

Taking into account the benefits of scrape your tongue it is clear the importance of incorporating this habit into our oral hygiene routine.