At the tip of the tongue are the papillae cells that are shaped like cones. These cells give the front two-thirds of the tongue its whitish cast. Underlying that, and accounting for the tongue's main coral-red shade, is a rich network of blood vessels. Nothing much goes wrong with it, and we rarely give it a thought. That's because it is bathed in saliva.
Saliva contains enzymes to fight bacteria.
The tongue needs that battalion of fighters, since each surface cell on it is home to about 100 bacteria. All those bacterial hordes have fueled a debate over tongue brushing among dental experts. Dr. Shklar and others think that saliva does a fine job of cleaning the tongue without any further assistance from your toothbrush. But other experts include tongue brushing as part of daily home dental care. Some companies are even marketing tongue scrapers, devices to help you clean your tongue, says Richard H. Price, D.M.D., clinical instructor of dentistry at Boston University Henry Goldman School of Dentistry.