Even if you do bake the sand it still is pretty much a sponge for bacteria. When your beardie poos in it all the bacteria will go into the sand even if you scoop it out. And it will only get more and more infected with bacteria as time goes on. That occasional lick or tasting of the sand (as the person up above said their beardie does) isn't as harmless as he claims it to be. Sure maybe the sand gets pooed out and doesn't cause impaction, but all the bacteria in the sand stays in the body, which can make your beardie sick enough that it can die unless treated by a vet.
I highly discourage against sand. There are so many bad things about it. In fact.... lets make a pros and cons list.
Pros about sand:
1. it looks nice in the viv
2. its what they live on in their natural habitat
Ok... i honestly couldn't think of any more pros.
Here are the cons:
1.harbors bacteria
2.expensive to have to replace (which you should do frequently since all of the bacteria is dangerous)
3.can cause impaction
4.the bacteria that is in the sand can make your beardie very sick (which can lead to very expensive vet bills)
5.unlike tiles or repti carpet, you can't clean sand
6.sand has been known to get in the eyes of beardies and cause them the loss of their sight.
With tile or repti carpet you can just clean it and put it back in the viv, you only have to pay one time for tile as opposed to the many times you will have to pay for sand.
Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion but, in the long run, sand is a horrible substrate to use, and if you care anything about your beardie then you would notice that the risks far out weigh the 'prettiness' it brings to your viv.