{"id":3757,"date":"2021-07-19T17:36:29","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T17:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thedentalexpress.com\/?p=3757"},"modified":"2024-03-07T01:18:28","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T01:18:28","slug":"6-things-you-never-knew-about-your-tongue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedentalexpress.com\/dental-blog\/6-things-you-never-knew-about-your-tongue\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Things You Never Knew About Your Tongue"},"content":{"rendered":"

You know your tongue helps you taste, eat, and talk, but these 6 Things You Never Knew About Your Tongue which are <\/span>fun facts just might surprise you (and #4 may gross you out!)<\/span><\/h2>\n

Without our tongues, life would be quite a hassle.<\/span><\/p>\n

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We wouldn\u2019t be able to hold a conversation with each other\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

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We wouldn\u2019t be able to <\/span>eat or swallow properly<\/b><\/a>\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

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But worst of all, we wouldn\u2019t be able to taste our food.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The thought alone is enough to make you shiver!<\/span><\/p>\n

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But luckily, these lingual masterpieces of biology are right where they\u2019re supposed to be. And as it turns out, there\u2019s a whole lot more to them than their primary functions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, we\u2019re bringing you a fun and informative article filled with little-known things you never knew about your tongue about one of the most important organs of the human body. Follow along as we share 6 Things You Never Knew About Your Tongue!<\/p>\n

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1. Your tongue is just as vulnerable to bacteria as your teeth<\/span><\/h2>\n

While it\u2019s not at risk of developing tooth decay, your tongue is still exposed to the same amount and types of bacteria as your teeth.<\/span><\/p>\n

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And as you\u2019ve likely noticed by now, it\u2019s not smooth; there are little bumps and grooves all over it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Well, those bumps are called papillae, and the way they\u2019re shaped and arranged on the surface of your tongue creates the perfect hangout spot for food debris and <\/span>oral bacteria.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

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Without proper care, that bacteria can encourage the development of <\/span>dental plaque<\/b><\/a>, potentially leading to tooth decay and gum disease.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But that\u2019s where your daily dental care habits come in. You\u2019ve probably already heard that it\u2019s essential to brush your tongue every time you brush your teeth.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Now you know why. Tongue health is essential to dental health!<\/span><\/p>\n

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2. Got bad breath? Tongue scraping isn\u2019t any better than brushing<\/span><\/h2>\n

With the world chewing through an estimated <\/span>560,000 tons<\/b><\/a> of gum per year, we humans are no strangers to the battle against bad breath\u2026(and that\u2019s not even counting mint sales!)<\/span><\/p>\n

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But many people are under the impression that since much of the \u201cbad breath\u201d bacteria sits on the tongue, tongue scrapers can provide a better defense than traditional tongue brushing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The scientific community tends to disagree, however.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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There\u2019s a term for the types of bacteria that cause bad breath: volatile sulfur compounds, or VSCs.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In a study by the <\/span>Journal of the American Dental Association (ADA)<\/b><\/a>, researchers found that although both the tongue cleaner (a combination brush and scraper) and the tongue scraper were more effective at reducing VSC levels than regular brushing, the reduction only lasted for thirty minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

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After that amount of time, the VSC levels for all three methods returned to normal. With only a thirty-minute window, the ADA wasn\u2019t comfortable promoting tongue scraping as a useful weapon in the fight against bad breath.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But don\u2019t let this research discourage you from using tongue scrapers to improve your tongue health! We\u2019ll talk more about this <\/span>oral health<\/b><\/a> technique in a moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. It\u2019s not \u201ca\u201d muscle<\/span><\/h2>\n

You\u2019ve probably heard that the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body at some point or another.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But not only is this statement false, it\u2019s also misleading. The tongue is actually made up of two different muscle groups, each containing four muscles!<\/span><\/p>\n

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One group of muscles secures the tongue to the surrounding facial structures, while the other makes up the incredibly flexible and agile pink blob that we see when we open our mouths.<\/span><\/p>\n

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You\u2019ll notice in the previous sentence that we didn\u2019t say the tongue attaches to a specific bone\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

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Well, this is because it doesn\u2019t play by the same rules as the other muscles in your body.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Together, the two groups of tongue muscles form something called a muscular hydrostat, which works a lot like an octopus\u2019s tentacles.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This complex network of muscles functions independently of any bone structure and allows you to twist, turn, and morph your tongue into all kinds of shapes and sizes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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And it\u2019s a good thing too because, without all that range of motion, speaking and eating would be a whole lot harder!<\/span><\/p>\n

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*By the way, pound for pound, the strongest muscle in the human body is the masseter, a jaw muscle that\u2019s responsible for closing your teeth!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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4. Things can get \u201chairy\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n

Yes, you read that right.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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There is, in fact, an oral health condition called \u201chairy tongue\u201d that causes your tongue to take on a furry look.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Remember the papillae from fact number one?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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If for whatever reason, they\u2019re unable to shed away their dead skin cells, they hold onto that extra tissue instead and continue to grow longer.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Reaching further out from the base of the tongue, these extended papillae catch far more food particles and bacteria than normal.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The result? The papillae become stained by whatever bacteria comes into contact with them, giving your tongue that hairy look.<\/span><\/p>\n

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And the \u201cfur\u201d could be black, brown, or white in color, depending on what you eat or drink.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sounds terrible, doesn\u2019t it?!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t worry. Hairy tongue is usually totally harmless, painless, and you can easily brush the fur away with a tongue scraper or toothbrush.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But what causes this freaky-looking condition?<\/span><\/p>\n

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The cause of hairy tongue is hard to pin down, but according to <\/span>Mayo Clinic<\/b><\/a>, these factors may play a role:<\/span><\/p>\n

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