Tongue and Bad Breath

The connection between the tongue and bad breath has been known for some time - bad breath results from the fact that certain types of bacteria are able to grow on the surface of the tongue while they are not so comfortable in many other parts of the mouth. They are anaerobic bacteria - bacteria that only thrive in the absence of oxygen. They feed on food particles lodged in the mouth, and on dead cells that are naturally sloughed off the inside surfaces of the mouth and sinus cavities. Thriving in airless pockets in the mouth and throat, some of their waste products are gases like hydrogen sulfide that smell bad and cause halitosis. Though the bacteria are found in places where oxygen is scarce, hydrogen sulfide and other gases produced by the bacteria soon mix with air inside the mouth and in the breath. They form the main components of halitosis.

The connection between the tongue and halitosis is easy to understand once you understand the anatomy of the tongue itself. Though its surface may look like simply rough skin, it is actually a busy surface with many deep clefts. The surface of the tongue is covered with elevations of four kinds, all called papillae. Some of these papillae contain taste buds, the receptors that allow us to taste our food. The papillae are shaped like little pillars or mushrooms, set into the surface so that a deep moat surrounds each one. At the base of the papillae, glands secrete fluids to wash the taste buds and clear away food particles. At the back of the tongue lie the lingual tonsils, lymphoid tissue that forms part of the body's defense against harmful organisms. Unfortunately, anaerobic bacteria tend to accumulate in all of these clefts and moats in the tongue and bad breath results.

The surface of the tongue is typically coated with a layer of mucous that contains antibodies, enzymes, and lubricants to make it easier to chew and swallow food. An additional effect of this mucous layer is to cover all the tiny grooves in the tongue - it provides an additional barrier between the anaerobic bacteria and the oxygen present in the mouth. Particularly at the very back of the tongue, there are anaerobic conditions perfect for the proliferation of anaerobic bacteria. This is why many dentists and bad breath specialists recommend that you regularly clean your tongue - to remove the mucous layer and allow oxygen to contact the tissues and bacteria on the surface. Other bad breath treatments aim at delivering oxygen to the back of the mouth to put an end to anaerobic bacteria living on the tongue and halitosis that follows.

It's not clear why some people have a problem with their tongue and bad breath while others don't. All tongues are basically the same but only a few unlucky people have so many anaerobic bacteria colonizing the back of their tongue that a bad odor results. Regardless of the reason, however, the way to tackle the problem is usually the same: get rid of the bacteria that live on the tongue and halitosis will go away. Antiseptic mouthwashes aim to do this. Other mouth washes that contain oil are based on the idea that bacteria will stick to the oil and be carried away. Still other mouthwashes deliver oxygen to the surface of the tongue to kill off bacteria and discourage other bacteria from moving in. Until we know how to prevent the bacteria from making themselves comfortable in our tongues in the first place, these approaches are the best solutions to the problem of the tongue and halitosis.