Even though your teeth get most of the focus when it comes to your smile, your tongue plays a very important role. To help you not take your tongue for granted, here are five fun tongue facts:
- Your tongue is the strongest muscle in your body. The strongest tongue award goes to Thomas Blackstone who lifted a 24 pound weight that was hooked through his tongue.
- Tongue cleaning can prevent overall health issues. Studies show that those who regularly clean their tongue with a toothbrush or tongue scraper have less heart attacks, pneumonia, premature births and diabetes.
- No one’s tongue is alike.Your tongue is like your fingerprints, no one else has the same exact size, shape or tastebuds as your tongue.
- Your tastebuds have short life-spans.You have 10,000 tastebuds and the lifespan of a tastebud is only 10 days long.
- Bad breath can be caused by a dirty tongue.If you don’t clean your tongue, it can harbor smelly bacteria that leaves you with bad breath.
The best way to take care of your tongue is to use a tongue scraper to clean it every day when your brush your teeth. This can help remove bacteria that causes bad breath and cavities.
If you want to learn how to best take care of your oral health, the friendly, experienced dentists at the Lakeway Center for Cosmetic and Family Dentistry are here for you. Contact us today, and set-up your appointment.