Poor oral hygiene is one of the main reasons why your tongue can look gross. What’s more, that whitish or yellowish goop on the surface of your tongue can leave your breath smelling terrible!

According to dental experts, there are a bunch of other things that can keep your tongue from looking pink, which is a clear sign that it’s clean and in a healthy state. Some of those other culprits include dehydration, candida yeast infection of the mouth, periodontal disease, and an illness.

Did you know that the consumption of spicy foods can also leave your tongue looking awful? And if you smoke cigarettes or consume lots and lots of alcohol, your tongue can easily become covered with gunk.

Here are some tips and tricks to keeping your tongue looking in the pink of health:

Use a Tongue Scraper

Compared to a toothbrush, a tongue scraper is more effective in cleaning the tongue, dentists say. It’s exactly due to this reason why it is a good idea for you to invest in a tongue scraper and use it each time you clean your mouth.

Depend on Baking Soda

There are so many home, health and beauty uses of baking soda, and one of them is keeping your tongue looking really clean. All you need to do is dunk your wet toothbrush in a box of baking soda and start brushing away that disgusting whitish or yellowish stuff on the surface of your tongue. As a bonus, baking soda helps zap odor-causing bacteria, thus keeping your breath from smelling foul.

Sprinkle Some Salt

Other than baking soda, you may also rely on salt in cleaning your tongue. What’s so nice about salt is it also disinfects your tongue, putting an end to a bout of bad breath. However, since salt is a lot coarser than baking soda, make sure that you clean your tongue with it ever so gently to avoid scratching or irritating its surface.

Gargle With Aloe Vera Juice

After cleaning your mouth and you’re still not happy with the way your tongue looks, reach for half a cup of pure aloe vera juice and swish it in your mouth for a couple of minutes. Aloe vera juice can come in handy most especially if an infection of some sort is taking place in your mouth because it has antimicrobial properties.

Or Try Coconut Oil

It’s not just aloe vera juice that’s superb at putting an end to an infection that can leave your tongue looking unhealthy, but also coconut oil. For a few minutes, swish a tablespoon of coconut oil in your mouth and spit afterwards.

Consume Plain Yogurt

You may also try snacking on yogurt if you have an ongoing mouth infection. That’s because this healthy treat is packed with beneficial bacteria that are highly capable of killing off problem-causing microbes in your oral cavity. However, make sure that you go for plain yogurt because sugar in flavored ones can only make matters worse.

Stay Hydrated

Every day, you should consume about 2 liters of water to keep your body hydrated. This is also something that can help keep your tongue pink-colored and healthy as water helps flush away bacteria on your tongue. Drinking enough water also helps save your mouth from ending up dry, which is something that can promote the growth of microbes on the surface of your tongue, making it appear whitish or yellowish eventually.

Quit Cigarette Smoking

Last but not least, you should also ditch smoking if you’re a smoker as it can wreak havoc to your tongue and others in your oral cavity. And we all know that cigarette smoking can also ruin your health on so many levels!

Feel free to share this article on social media to let everybody know how to keep the tongue looking clean.