Cleaning your tongue is part of a healthy oral hygiene routine. Here at Toronto Beach Dental, we want our patients to know what a good oral care routine means and this includes tongue cleaning too!
A tongue scraper or also known as tongue cleaner is an oral hygiene tool made for cleaning the surfaces of the tongue. You can buy from the market, a plastic or metal tongue scraper depending on your preference.
Tongue scraping is considered a fast way of removing food residues from your mouth, which if neglected can cause halitosis or bad breath.
Here’s how you can clean your tongue using a tongue scraper:
- Clean your tongue before or after brushing your teeth. When cleaning your tongue with a tongue scraper, it is important that you start scraping at the back of your tongue and slowly work your way forward to remove the food particles away from your mouth.
- Rinse the scraper under warm water after each scrape of the tongue. Make sure you use light pressure when scraping your tongue to prevent bleeding. Concentrate on the centre where the majority of the odour-causing bacteria resides.
- Clean the side and the back of your tongue too to ensure that you remove all the food residues from your mouth. Rinse the tongue scraper before and after using it. Then, gargle with water or mouthwash after cleaning your tongue.
Cleaning your tongue is as important as brushing and flossing your teeth. Make tongue cleaning a habit! If you have questions on tongue cleaning or oral hygiene practices, please contact our dental team in Toronto.
-Dr. Jay Rabinovich