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A clean tongue promotes good oral health and well-being

Tue, May 18th 2021, 08:49 AM
Health Nassau Guardian Stories

There are 20 billion bacteria in your mouth that reproduce every five hours. If you go 24 hours without brushing, those 20 billion become 100 billion! Did you know that the majority of these bacteria reside on your tongue in the form of plaque?

Bethel broke her own meet record and qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, now scheduled for this summer, when she clocked a blistering personal best of 22.54 seconds in the 200 meters (m) at the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the University of South Florida Track and Field Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on Sunday. She went under the 22.80 seconds Olympic qualifying mark to become the eighth Bahamian to qualify for the Olympic Games. After the race, the senior looked back at the clock and was happy with her time as she broke her own 2018 meet record of 22.74 seconds. The new record was the third-fastest time in Cougars history in that event.
The Grand Bahamian moves up to a tie for number four in the NCAA Division I rankings in that event this season.
Bethel ran a well-executed race from start to finish. She went into the final with the fastest qualifying time of 23.11 seconds and ran out of lane five in the final. Bethel got out of the blocks quickly and kept close with her opponents before using the final 100 meters to pull away.
The University of Cincinnati Bearcats’ Caisja Chandler finished with the silver medal after clocking 22.85 seconds. Bethel’s teammate Cecilia Tamayo-Garza ran 23.02 seconds to win the bronze medal.
The Grand Bahamian was also dominant in the 400m final as she clocked a personal best of 51.77 seconds to secure the gold medal. Her previous personal best coming into this meet was 52.87 seconds. She lowered that time in the preliminaries by running 52.76 seconds – the fastest in the preliminaries.
Bethel ran out of lane five in the final. She made her move at the 200 meter mark before coming around the final curve by herself, going after the meet record of 51.38 seconds. The senior was the only competitor to go under 52 seconds.
Southern Methodist University Mustangs’ Chika Iwuamadi crossed the finish line over a second slower than Bethel. She clocked 52.96 seconds. Finishing third was the Bearcats’ Tiona Lattimore who clocked 53.68 seconds.
At the Conference USA (C-USA) Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Shakeem Smith ran away with the gold medal and C-USA Championships record in the 400m hurdles. The University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) Miners senior ran a personal best time of 49.82 seconds. It was the first time he ran under 50 seconds in that event. He broke a 21-year championship record of 50.05 seconds set by Greg Christie. Smith went into the final with a qualifying time of 51.83 seconds.

In this column, I address the tongue, that unique organ that plays a significant role in eating, tasting, swallowing, speaking and yes, harboring odors.

Have you ever noticed a white film on the top of your tongue? That film is a clear example of millions of bacteria. We all have tongue bacteria and there are several kinds. Some of them are more harmful than others in certain situations, but most of them can result in poor oral hygiene. From bad breath to a more serious health problem, there are multiple reasons cleaning your tongue properly is important to good oral care.

The tongue is vital for chewing and swallowing food, as well as for speech. The four common tastes are sweet, sour, bitter and salty. The tongue has many nerves that help detect and transmit taste signals to the brain.

The tongue is made up of eight different muscle groups that interlock with each other, creating a flexible band. The tongue muscles are the only muscles in the human body that work independently of any bones. Your tongue muscles never appear to get tired, as it assists in eating, talking and swallowing.

Did you know that the condition of your tongue also assists in diagnosing medical conditions? As a part of a normal screening, dentists examine the general condition of your tongue. It tells the dentist much more than you think.

Our tongue is a flexible muscular organ. The tongue has many elevations, crevices and taste buds, which help hide the bacteria. These elevations are homes for the bacteria. The surface of your tongue has bumps known as papillae within which bacteria may also hide.

The back of your tongue has the highest concentration of microorganisms in your mouth. Therefore, keeping it clean is of vital importance. These bacteria can contribute to oral health conditions, such as bad breath, gum disease and tooth decay.

The easiest way to clean the tongue is to use a soft-bristled toothbrush, and more importantly, a tongue scraper. The most common tongue scraper is soft, with flexible plastic that gently scrapes away the thin layer of debris and mucus-like coating from your tongue. The periodic scraping pulls the deeply embedded bacteria to the tongue’s surface.

Talk to your dentist about the best oral rinses for halitosis. Mouth rinses with a form of peroxide or other antibacterial properties tend to work best.

The tongue is a hotspot for bacteria and viruses and since it assists in the diagnosis of several oral health and medical diseases, closely examining your tongue is an important part of your dental check-up.

 

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