Expert: Navin kurian B.Sc - 9/25/2003

Question
I am suffering from a coated tongue from a long time. My tongue is coated all the time. Even if I clean it will again get coated after 1 hour or so. As a result there is halitosis. There is no constipation. Is this due to liver or there is other problem? Can you advice on some self help technique?  

Answer
hi Vikas

White Coated Tongue

When you open your mouth and you see that you have a white coated tongue, you're likely to be a little shocked. A white coated tongue is pretty common and is not usually dangerous. However, it is your first physical indication that something is wrong and that you very likely have bad breath.

It's What They Leave Behind
A white coated tongue is the result of your bacteria friends doing their thing on your tongue. As disgusting as it sounds, think of the white coating as their, well, bodily wastes. The sulfuric compounds the bacteria release turn into white tongue and, in some cases, yellow or black tongue.

While it may seem logical that scraping or brushing your tongue with toothpaste or some tongue cleaners is the way to relieve this nasty little problem, that isn't actually the case. Because your tongue is made up of little tiny fibers, the bacteria waste tends to settle into the little crevices below the surface of your tongue. Brushing or scraping can't get to these hidden spaces.

White coated tongue is a sign of bad breath. By using products designed to destroy the byproducts of the bacteria living on your tongue, you'll get rid of foul-smelling breath and your white coated tongue. In the next section about causes of halitosis, I'll go into more detail about this unwelcome bacteria waste.

Importance of Tongue Cleaning

The tongue's surface is the main breeding ground for harmful bacteria that attack teeth & gums producing a rotten egg - smelling gases or "dragon mouth"!

Tongue cleaning is necessary, in addition to brushing, for a thorough dislodging of the plaque and mucus. In clinical tests, tongue cleaning is proven to have reduced odors and bacteria by 75%!

Tongue scraping with a tongue cleaner is a boon for those suffering from coated tongue. Effective tongue cleaning reduces coating on the tongue by as much as 40%!! The best part is that a tongue cleaner is so easy and fun to use.

A myth widely believed is that the stomach is the root cause of bad breath. Bad breath from the stomach is so rare that of a thousand people treated for bad breath not a single case was caused by stomach problems.

Tooth brushing and mouthwashes do nothing to remove oral debris on the tongue, the root cause of bad breath. At best they mask bad breath. Tongue cleaning is by far the most effective way of combating bad breath.

Recently, there have been three world meets on bad breath wherein a lot of emphasis has been given to tongue cleaning as a daily adjunct to routine oral hygiene.
Did you know?

Teeth brushing & tongue cleaning reduce bad breath by
  85%

Tongue cleaning alone reduces mouth odor by
  75%

Brushing the teeth only, reduces mouth odor by
  25%

Tongue cleaning reduces the amount of coating on the tongue by
  40%

Tongue cleaning inhibits plaque formation on teeth by  
  33%

Tongue cleaning is more effective than brushing by
  50%

Tongue cleaning will cut down the bacteria stored in the mouth by   
  Tenfold

Tongue cleaning reduces halitosis including smoker's breath by
  85%
Why use a tongue cleaner ?

A tongue cleaner is a product that has been used for thousands of years as a part of traditional Ayurvedic and yogic practice. It is a uniquely designed bend made of Copper (preferably!) designed to remove the maximum waste organic matter and mucous from the tiny grooves on the tongue surface by gently gliding it over the surface.