Dental Knowledge
What is tongue scraping? 10 things you need to know about tongue cleaning
What is tongue scraping? 9 things you need to know about tongue cleaning. Tongue scraping is a method of using specialized tools such as a toothbrush to help remove plaque, bacteria, and food residue… off the tongue. What effect does tongue scraping have? Cleaning your tongue every day, if done properly, will bring the following benefits: eliminating bacteria, treating bad breath, making food taste better and strengthening the digestive system…
What is tongue scraping?
Things you need to know when cleaning your tongue: Tongue scraping is a step in the oral care process to remove bacteria and food residue… off the tongue surface. If done properly, daily tongue brushing will bring many benefits such as treating bad breath, strengthening the digestive system, and preventing dental diseases…
Tongue scraping is an indispensable step in daily oral hygiene. The surface of the tongue has tiny taste particles that will be an ideal place for bacteria to continue to grow.
Besides, the tongue also has food debris and dead cells accumulated, leading to bad breath that affects oral health. This is also the reason why dentists recommend regular tongue cleaning.
Is tongue scraping dangerous?
Tongue scraping is an effective and safe oral hygiene method if used properly. However, if you scrape your tongue too hard or do not use the tongue scraper properly, it can also cause damage or scratches to the tongue skin.
Using a sharp or pointed tongue scraper can also damage or scratch the skin of the tongue, causing pain or bleeding. Therefore, you should use a soft tongue scraper or rubber tool to reduce the possibility of tongue damage.
Additionally, if you have a wound or lesion on your tongue, scraping your tongue will cause pain or scratch the skin of the wound. In this case, you should temporarily stop scraping your tongue until the wound heals completely.
If you have any problems or concerns regarding tongue scraping, please consult your doctor or healthcare professional before proceeding.
Tongue scraping helps remove plaque, bacteria and dead cells on the tongue.
What effect does tongue scraping have?
What effect does tongue scraping have? Cleaning your tongue brings you many benefits such as: eliminating disease-causing bacteria in the mouth, limiting bad breath, better taste of food, preventing dental diseases, and protecting the digestive system…
Reduces disease-causing bacteria in the mouth
According to what we said above, the tongue is a convenient location for harmful bacteria in the oral cavity to multiply. Shaving your tongue daily will be an effective solution to remove plaque and food residue left on your tongue after eating.
When we scrape our tongue, we are removing dead skin cells, food particles, and bacteria from the tongue’s surface. This helps reduce the amount of bacteria in the mouth, prevents the growth of disease-causing bacteria and helps maintain fresh breath and a clean mouth.
In addition to tongue scraping, you should also take adequate care of your teeth by brushing your teeth at least twice a day, using dental floss and mouthwash to remove plaque and bacteria in the oral cavity. Combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle, adequate dental care will help you reduce the risk of oral diseases and maintain your body’s overall health.
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Reduce bad breath
Dead cells or bacteria sticking to the surface of the tongue for a long time will cause breath to have a very unpleasant odor. This is the factor that makes many people feel embarrassed and shy when talking to people around them.
Cleaning your tongue regularly will help you improve the above condition. According to a study published in the Journal of Periodontology in 2004, daily tongue scraping can release up to 75% of volatile sulfur compounds. This is a compound that produces bad breath and is often found on the surface of the tongue.
Increases tongue aesthetics
The longer plaque accumulates on the surface of the tongue, the more unsightly discolored patches it will form. Not to mention, these uneven plaques will cause brown or yellow spots on the surface of the tongue. The tongue is dirty and has an unattractive color, making many people feel self-conscious when communicating. Shaving your tongue every day will help you overcome the above situation.
Taste food better
Many doctors specializing in dentistry have shared that the taste buds on the tongue directly impact the way you feel about food. However, in case the tongue has a lot of plaque and bacteria… then the taste particles will be hindered from functioning. You will not feel the taste of food that you find unpalatable while eating.
Therefore, you should practice the habit of cleaning your tongue every day to remove bacteria and plaque on the tongue surface. Then, you will fully enjoy the flavor of your favorite dishes.
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Brings a refreshing feeling
The removal of dirt, bacteria, and dead cells… coming off the tongue is guaranteed to bring you comfort and freshness. You no longer feel uncomfortable or self-conscious about the bad smell in your mouth. Thanks to that, you will have a more comfortable mood every day.
Minimize oral diseases
The tongue contains many bacteria and leftover food residue… not only causes unhygienic and bad breath but also negatively affects the organs inside the oral cavity. Bacteria from the tongue will continue to grow and destroy teeth and gums… This is also one of the main reasons why you suffer from many dental diseases such as tooth decay, gingivitis, and gingivitis…
Even more seriously, bacteria on the tongue will travel to the throat area and cause respiratory infections. Therefore, scraping your tongue regularly will help you prevent the above diseases.
Improve digestive system
The habit of scraping your tongue every day will bring dental benefits and improve digestive health. Because the tongue is the place that comes into great contact with food before moving to the stomach.
Regularly scraping your tongue will help clean the tongue surface, preventing bacteria and toxic substances from moving with food to the digestive system. Besides, cleaning the tongue also stimulates the production of gastric juice and increases agni (metabolic rate) to keep the digestive system healthy.
Is tongue scraping good?
Is tongue scraping good? Dentists often recommend that you scrape your tongue every day for many good effects such as eliminating bacteria, reducing bad breath, enhancing taste experience, and improving the digestive system. .. However, tongue scraping is effective if you do it properly.
If you do it wrong, you will have to face many consequences such as: damage to taste buds, tongue heat, tongue bleeding. .. In particular, some people with dental disease who scrape their tongue too hard will scratch their tongue and cause superinfection. Therefore, you should carefully learn how to clean your tongue before shaving to limit negative effects on your body.
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Instructions on how to scrape your tongue properly
To dry your tongue, you should use one of the following three ways: use a specialized tongue scraper, toothpaste or mouthwash.
Clean your tongue with a suitable tool
To get the best results, you need to choose the right tool, clean your tongue at the right time and do it properly.
Choose appropriate tools
First, you need to choose a tongue scraper that is right for you. Currently on the market there are many types of tongue scrapers made from iron or plastic with different shapes.
However, you should choose small, handheld types that are sized to fit your oral cavity. In addition, tongue cleaners need to have soft scraping heads so as not to damage the tongue as well as other organs such as teeth and gums…
Tongue cleaning time
You should regularly scrape your tongue twice a day, in the morning and at night before going to bed. Additionally, you should brush your tongue before breakfast. But sometimes while scraping your tongue, you will experience discomfort and nausea if the scraper touches the part of your tongue close to your throat.
Tongue cleaning steps
Below are some steps for cleaning your tongue with specialized tools that you can refer to:
- Step 1: Put the tongue scraper head into your mouth and gently brush your tongue from the inside out, from left to right on the top of the tongue.
- Step 2: Wash the tongue scraper to remove plaque and bacteria and then brush your tongue again.
- Step 3: Push your tongue up and brush the underside of your tongue along with the teeth above.
- Step 4: Use saline or regular mouthwash to clean residue after brushing your tongue.
- Step 5: Wash the tongue scraper, dry it and put it in an antibacterial jar.
Clean your tongue with a toothbrush
Immediately after brushing your teeth, you also need to use a toothbrush to remove plaque and bacteria on the surface of the tongue. Cleaning is not as effective as using a specialized tongue cleaner, but the above method is convenient and easy to do, so many people choose it.
- Step 1: Choose a toothbrush with grooves on the back to help clean the tongue.
- Step 2: Stick your tongue out as far as possible.
- Step 3: Place the toothbrush in the middle of the tongue.
- Step 4: Move the brush along the tongue to brush away plaque.
- Step 5: Rinse your mouth to remove remaining food residue in the oral cavity.
- Step 6: Wash the brush and keep it in a clean place.
Clean your tongue with mouthwash
To improve the effectiveness of tongue cleaning, you should use mouthwash after cleaning your tongue with a specialized tool such as a toothbrush. Not only that, the ingredients in mouthwash also have the effect of killing bacteria, helping to effectively improve bad breath.
After cleaning your tongue, you should take about 15 – 20 milliliters of mouthwash. Next, rinse your mouth normally for about 30 seconds and spit it out. Proper oral hygiene will help you have long-lasting fresh breath and prevent many infectious diseases.
Top 5 best tongue scrapers
According to oral and maxillofacial experts, the tongue scraper effectively helps remove plaque and dirt on the tongue surface. Below are the 5 most commonly used tongue scrapers.
Japanese tongue scraper – Okamura
Okamura tongue scraper is researched and manufactured by Okamura Corporation – a Japanese corporation with more than 100 years of experience in providing oral care products.
The above product is made from PE plastic material that has been tested for quality, so it is very safe for consumers. The Okamura tongue scraper has a length of 15 centimeters, a head height of 2.5 centimeters and a body width of 1 centimeter, very suitable for the mouths of Asians in general and Vietnamese people in particular.
Okamura tongue scraper is smartly designed, convenient and feels comfortable when used. The shaving head will easily remove residue on the tongue without affecting many organs in the oral cavity.
Stainless steel tongue scraper
Stainless steel tongue scrapers are sold in many different designs and sizes. They are made from high-quality stainless steel, safe for consumers and allow repeated use.
Most types of stainless steel tongue scrapers are usually compact in design and packaged in a dust-proof box. Therefore, you should bring it with you when going to work, traveling or anywhere.
High-quality stainless steel material helps the tongue scraper maintain its shine and firmness compared to other products made from plastic. Not only that, the hardness of the stainless steel tongue scraper meets standards so it does not damage the tongue surface.
Spoon tongue scraper
Coffee spoons and dinner spoons are also tools people use to scrape their tongues. Tongue scrapers are usually made of plastic or stainless steel and have a curved tip similar to the design of a traditional tongue scraper to help remove plaque on the tongue.
However, scraping your tongue with a spoon does not remove harmful bacteria or dead skin cells as easily as other specialized tongue scrapers. Additionally, you need to make sure they are washed before use so that there are no negative effects on your oral health.
Tongue brush for babies
Not only adults, children also need to clean their tongue every day to ensure oral health for their first baby teeth. For young children, parents should use tongue swabs. This product is specifically designed to easily clean your baby’s tongue surface and ensure health requirements.
For babies aged 1 year and older, mothers should choose a tongue scraper made of plastic so as not to affect the child’s oral cavity. In addition, parents should choose products with eye-catching and funny shapes to make children excited when cleaning their tongue. Some baby tongue scrapers that parents can refer to include: Trisa Kid, Trisa Double Action from Switzerland…
Tongue cleaning tool with brush
In order to save time and make cleaning convenient, many people choose a toothbrush with a built-in tongue brush. These are brushes with ridges and grooves on the back to remove plaque remaining on the tongue surface. However, you should choose brushes that are sized to fit your mouth to increase cleaning quality.
Frequently asked questions related to tongue scraping
Below we will answer questions that many people are interested in related to tongue scraping such as: should you clean your tongue before or after brushing your teeth, which tongue scraper is good to choose, and where to buy tongue cleaners?
Should you scrape your tongue before or after brushing your teeth?
According to some dentists, scraping the tongue after brushing will bring better results. Because after brushing your teeth, you need some time to focus on your tongue – where plaque often accumulates in the oral cavity. The dirt on the tongue will be quickly removed without remaining on the teeth.
Is it good to use a tongue scraper regularly?
Dentists also recommend brushing your tongue only about twice a day, morning and evening, to remove plaque and prevent bacteria from entering. If you use a tongue scraper too many times a day, your tongue will be easily scratched. You may even have to face loss of smell.
Reasons why tongue bleeding causes bleeding
Bleeding from scraping your tongue only happens when you rub so hard that it scratches your tongue. Therefore, you should learn carefully how to use a tongue scraper and do it gently.
In addition, some tongue diseases can also cause bleeding when tongue peeling. At that time, you should go to a reputable dental clinic for a doctor to check and get appropriate treatment.
Where to buy tongue scraper?
You should go straight to reputable dental clinics or pharmacies, grocery stores, and large supermarkets nationwide to buy tongue cutters. In addition, a number of other tongue cleaning tools are also commonly sold on websites. However, you should choose a reputable address to avoid mistakenly buying poor quality and non-origin products.
In short, tongue scraping is a step that you cannot skip in daily oral care. However, you need to do it properly and choose the right tools to avoid damaging your tongue and negatively impacting your oral health.
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