Is your tongue healthy?

by Arpita Wadhawan
Tongue Healthy

When we talk about dental health, we tend to ignore the tongue. An unhealthy tongue can lead to as much discomfort as an unwell tooth and gum. Look at the mirror and learn whether your tongue is healthy or not today by just looking at its color.

A lot can be discovered by looking simply at the color of the tongue. Any kind of unusual behavior of body is reflected through tongue like a problem in stomach, pancreas, liver, and intestines, etc.

Look at your tongue early morning in sunlight before brushing and check its color.

Firstly, how does a healthy tongue look?

A healthy tongue should be pink in color and covered by papillae or taste buds. Any deviation from the usual color hints a concern.

Abnormal Tongue colors

Tongue Color

  1. Beefy-red tongue/Smooth tongue

Nutritional deficiencies include iron, folate and vitamin B12 deficiency. B12 deficiency will also make the tongue sore and beefy-red in color. Glossitis, by causing swelling of the tongue, may also cause the tongue to appear smooth. Consult a doctor.

  1. White tongue

A white tongue can be a sign of dehydration. Also, it is associated usually as a result of smoking, drinking alcohol or poor oral hygiene.

  1. Black and Hairy Tongue

A black tongue generally happens due to trapped bacteria in the papillae. The causes are poor oral hygiene. It is relatively harmless and can be taken care of by brushing and using tongue scraper regularly.

  1. Purple or bluish

A tongue that is purple or bluish could mean that fluids and blood are not circulating properly. This lack of circulation quickly may translate into lethargy and poor emotional health.

  1. Yellow

As with a purple tongue, yellow is a rare tint for the tongue. It usually precedes the growth of black tongue. Sporadically, a yellow tongue may be a symptom of jaundice. Consult a doctor.

  1. Pale

A pale tongue means that your blood is lacking hemoglobin, the iron-containing protein that’s found in red blood cells.

These colored coating on the tongue can be thick or just a layer which could be easily scraped off. The thickness of the coating is directly proportional to the seriousness of the problem associated with the color.

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