7 Facts About Your Tongue

The tongue is one of the most important parts of a person's mouth, yet it is also one of the most neglected. There are many who even forget to clean their tongues when cleaning their mouth.

The tongue serves a critical purpose as it helps you to taste things. Also, talking would be impossible without it. Here are seven interesting facts about the human tongue:

7 interesting facts about the tongue

1. It is made up of eight muscles

The tongue is not the strongest muscle in the body, but it is one of the most flexible. That is why it is possible to use it all day long without it ever becoming fatigued. The strongest muscles in the body are the quads and glutes which can create the largest amounts of force.

2. Tongues are four inches long on average

The average person's tongue is about four inches long from the inside to the tip. The longest tongue ever measured is about twice that size.

3. The color of a person's tongue tells a story

The color of a person's tongue can be an indication of a serious health issue. It is pink when healthy, but allergies and infections can change its color to red. A blistered tongue might be a sign of a negative reaction to certain allergy and blood pressure medications, while fungal infections can lead to white patches all over the tongue.

The texture of the tongue also tells a story. When it is too smooth, that can be a sign that the person is deficient of essential minerals like folic acid, iron and vitamin B12.

4. Those bumps on your tongue are not taste buds

The small pink and white bumps on a person's tongue are not taste buds like many people seem to think. These are called papillae and they house the taste buds, which cannot be seen by the naked eye.

5. There are taste buds all over the tongue

All parts of a person's tongue are capable of tasting a wide range of things. There are charts that divide the tongue into different areas that only taste sweet, sour, salty and bitter tastes, but that is only done for the sake of simplicity. In reality, every part of the tongue is capable of detecting different tastes.

6. There are thousands of taste buds on a person's tongue

A tongue contains anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 taste buds. Some die off every couple of weeks and they are replaced with new ones.

7. Being able to roll the tongue is not always genetic

While genetics often determine who can roll their tongues, some people are able to learn how to do it with practice. The evidence proves that environmental factors can also determine if a person is able to roll their tongue.

You only have one tongue, so it is important that you take good care of it. Failing to do so can inhibit your ability to speak or taste things, and it can lead to bad breath.

Want to learn more?

For more information or to schedule an appointment with Smiles On Michigan, request an appointment in our Chicago dental office here: https://smilesonmichigan.com. Or call us at (312) 509-9492.