Should you clean your tongue is a question that divides bathrooms across the country, and the answer is a clear yes. The back of the tongue is the single most common home for the bacteria that cause bad breath, and it is also the most commonly neglected surface in the entire mouth.
It takes about ten seconds a day, and for some people the difference is remarkable.
On this page
- Why your tongue needs cleaning
- How to clean your tongue properly
- Scraper or toothbrush?
- If you gag
- What is the white coating?
- What tongue cleaning will not fix
- When a tongue change needs checking
- What to take away
Why your tongue needs cleaning
The surface of your tongue is not smooth. It is covered in tiny projections called papillae, and between them sits a landscape of grooves and crevices that traps food debris, dead cells and bacteria.
Those bacteria break down proteins and release sulphur compounds, which are precisely what bad breath smells of. The back third of the tongue is the worst offender, because it is furthest from the cleansing flow of saliva and the movement of eating.
Brushing your teeth does nothing for this. Rinsing barely touches it. The coating has to be physically removed.
How to clean your tongue properly
- Do it once a day, usually easiest in the morning when the coating is heaviest, or after brushing at night.
- Stick your tongue out as far as is comfortable.
- Start as far back as you can manage without gagging. This matters, because the back is where the problem lives.
- Draw the scraper or brush forwards in one gentle stroke.
- Rinse the scraper and repeat four or five times, covering the middle and both sides.
- Be gentle. You are lifting a coating, not scrubbing a pan. Aggressive scraping irritates the tongue and can damage the papillae.
If your tongue is sore afterwards, you are pressing too hard.
Scraper or toothbrush?
A purpose-made tongue scraper is generally more effective. Its flat edge lifts the coating cleanly in one pass, where bristles tend to redistribute it as much as remove it.
That said, a toothbrush is considerably better than nothing, and many toothbrushes now have a textured pad on the back of the head designed for exactly this. Use whichever you will actually use every day.
Avoid anything improvised. Spoons and similar are too rigid and easy to press too hard with.
If you gag
A very common obstacle, and there are ways around it.
Start further forward than you eventually want to reach, and work backwards by a few millimetres each week as your tolerance builds. Exhale slowly while you do it rather than holding your breath. Try humming, which genuinely helps some people. And do it before eating rather than after.
Even cleaning the middle third of the tongue is worthwhile, so do not abandon the habit because you cannot reach the very back.
What is the white coating?
A thin white or pale coating on the tongue is normal and simply the accumulation described above. It builds overnight and is heaviest first thing.
A thicker coating can indicate dry mouth, smoking, dehydration, a mainly soft diet, or reduced saliva flow, which is a common side effect of many medications. Our post on why you cannot smell your own breath explains how dry mouth contributes to odour.
What tongue cleaning will not fix
It is genuinely effective, but it is not the whole answer to persistent bad breath.
If the cause is gum disease, with bacteria sheltering in pockets below the gum line, no amount of tongue cleaning reaches it. Our post on why gums bleed covers the warning signs, and our page on gum disease treatment explains what is involved.
Equally, food trapping around old fillings, crowns and bridges, or decay in a tooth, will keep producing odour whatever you do to your tongue.
So tongue cleaning belongs alongside brushing twice daily, cleaning between your teeth every day, and regular professional cleaning, rather than instead of any of them. Our page on fresh breath treatment explains how the real cause gets identified.
When a tongue change needs checking
Most tongue coatings are entirely harmless. Have a look at these, though:
- A white patch that does not wipe or scrape off
- Red or white patches that persist for more than three weeks
- An ulcer or sore area on the tongue lasting more than three weeks
- A lump or thickened area
- Persistent soreness or burning without an obvious cause
The great majority turn out to be harmless, but the three-week rule is worth respecting. Our page on mouth cancer screening explains what is checked at every appointment, and the Oral Health Foundation has further general guidance.
What to take away
Yes, you should clean your tongue, once a day, gently, starting as far back as you comfortably can and drawing forwards. A scraper works best, a toothbrush will do, and ten seconds of effort makes a genuine difference to breath for a great many people.
If bad breath persists despite good cleaning, the cause is elsewhere and worth finding. Ring us on 01255 422506. Our posts on how to brush your teeth properly and mouth recovery after quitting smoking cover related habits.
This article is general information rather than personal dental advice. Every mouth is different, so please speak to your dentist about your own teeth.
