Distinguish Healthy and Not Tongue and Maintain Cleanliness

Brushing your teeth twice a day is not enough if the tongue is not cleaned directly. Often, problems such as bad breath start from unsanitary tongue hygiene. Healthy tongue is also the key to oral health. Healthy tongue turns out to indicate that the body's condition is also in good health. Healthy tongue is generally pink with a surface covered with pimples called papillae.

Various colors of the tongue

Look at the various changes in tongue color as follows. Speckled white or entirely white tongue can be an indication of:

• Oral fungal infections

Fungal infections that look like white spots are most often experienced by people who experience weakening of the immune system, infants and the elderly, especially denture users. Likewise people who take antibiotics, diabetics, or even heart disease and asthma patients who use inhaled corticosteroids.

• Oral lichen planus

White lines on the surface of the tongue that look like lace. The cause is not always known with certainty and can subside by itself. White patches on the tongue and the inside of the mouth due to excessive cell growth. Leukoplakia often occurs when the tongue is irritated, as in smokers.

Red tongue can be a sign:

• Geographic tounge: reddish spots resembling maps on the surface of the tongue.
• Lack of vitamins. Deficiency of vitamin B12 and folic acid, can cause reddish tongue.
• Scarlet fever. Also called scarlet fever, which is an infection and high fever with symptoms of red tongue such as strawberries, as well as body rashes and sore throat.
• Kawasaki disease. Dangerous disease in toddlers is characterized by high fever which is also accompanied by symptoms of red tongue such as strawberries.

Hairy black tongue:

• Although it looks scary, but the condition of the tongue is actually not dangerous. In some people, tongue nodules grow too long, so it becomes a place of development of bacteria that causes the tongue to darken and look like hairy.
• This condition can also occur in people who undergo chemotherapy, take antibiotics, and who do not maintain oral hygiene.

Corrugated or painful tongue:

• Smoking can cause irritation and pain in the tongue.
• Sprue that may get worse because of increased stress levels or during menstruation.
• Injuries such as eating foods that are too hot or accidentally bite the tongue.
• Certain diseases such as oral cancer or diabetes and anemia.

Maintain Healthy Tongue

Uneven surface of the tongue makes this organ more at risk of storing bacteria so it needs to be rubbed. A dentist revealed that even though it looks flat, the surface of the tongue actually has a gap and height difference, so it can be a place for bacteria to hide. The bacteria in question can come from a collection of microorganisms that can form a layer on the surface of the tongue. Gargling with an antiseptic solution will only remove bacteria in the outer layer and not completely disinfect. To keep the tongue healthy, brush your teeth twice a day every day, including brushing your tongue. Avoid smoking and consuming alcoholic beverages, and limit consumption of foods that are too hot, sour, and spicy. To maintain a healthy tongue, keep the tongue from front to back and left to right, then rinse with clean water. However, avoid brushing the tongue too hard. You can also try using a surface scraper that is sold over the counter at a drug store, but in general brushing your tongue using a normal toothbrush is enough.