How To Prevent A Hairy Scary Halloween Tongue

31 Oct How To Prevent A Hairy Scary Halloween Tongue

 

Why Should I Clean My Tongue?

Maybe you didn’t realize tongue cleaning was a thing. It’s important to clean your tongue each day just as you clean your teeth and gums. As you can see from the picture above, our tongues can trap particles and even grow hair like substances on them. This tongue belongs to someone who rarely cleans his tongue and smokes cigarettes. Both are risk factors for developing a hairy tongue. He also has an upper denture and chews a softer kind of diet; he does not get a lot of pressure from hard crunchy foods. With a soft diet, and no cleaning, the tongue’s filiform papillae do not shed off the tongue as they typically do on a regular basis. In some instances, the papillae extend in length and resemble hair. The hair-like material is actually made of keratin, the same material body hair is made from. As the papillae extend, food, bacteria and yeast can get trapped in the substance and become brown, greenish, or black.

How Can You Get Rid of a Hairy Tongue?

Start cleaning the back of the tongue with a tongue scraper or a toothbrush. The manual cleaning usually resolves the issue, but sometimes a dentist or physician is needed to help eliminate the problem.

If you stick your tongue way out and see a hairy scary tongue, do not fret. There are ways to get it to go away, and know that your nearby dentist can take a look at your tongue to make sure it’s a simple problem. While there, your dentist will likely complete an oral cancer screening and check out the entire mouth. Even if you have no teeth, an exam is necessary each year to check areas in the mouth for total health.

We hope you have a fun, enjoyable and safe Halloween with no hairy scary tongues! Make sure you brush your teeth, floss your gums, and cleanse your tongue before you go to bed each night!

Happy Halloween!

 

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