How to you use a tongue scraper

We asked Marjolijn van der Sleen, who works as a dental hygienist at Binnenweg Dental Clinic in Utrecht, about her opinion on the use of a tongue cleaner.

“In my work as a dental hygienist at Binnenweg dental practice, I meet many patients that have a bad breath. Most people don’t notice and smell that themselves, but the people around them do. Some people with bad breath suffer so much from it that they are hindered in their social and intimate contacts. 
When I ask patients to clean their tongues, they often look at me questioningly. We brush our teeth twice a day, but often forget the tongue. While it contains a lot of bacteria that affect the smell of our breath.”

Healthy tongue, healthy mouth

Cleaning the tongue should actually be a regular part of the daily routine. My advice is to clean the tongue daily with a tongue scraper.  If you clean the tongue regularly, you will get a fresher breath. It also contributes to an improved taste. So the cleaner the tongue, the better you can enjoy the food you eat.

Plaque can not only be on the teeth, but also on the tongue. If someone has a lot of plaque on the tongue, it is more likely that the plaque will also attach to the teeth. This is, of course, bad for the teeth and gums. There are many studies that show that there is a link between poor oral hygiene and certain diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and infertility. So cleaning the tongue is even very important for one’s own health.

One tongue scraper for each tongue

I am interested in new products and like to research these products in practice. I was therefore very pleased to learn that blue®m is going to expand its range with a new tongue scraper. This tongue scraper has been developed to be the only one of its kind that can be used on four sides. This makes it suitable for cleaning any type of tongue. This makes it effective in removing plaque from the tongue. From scientific research (Beekmans et al., 2016) it has been tested as one of the best.

The best way to scrape your tongue

People often find tongue cleaning annoying because they tend to gag quickly. To prevent this, it is important to use the right tongue scraper and not the toothbrush. Because of its shape, the toothbrush triggers gagging tendencies faster than a fine, flat tongue scraper.

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But what is the best way to use a tongue scraper? The most important thing is: Practice makes perfect, have patience and make sure you stay calm.  If you have a tendency to gag, take it easy and repeat it the next day.

I recommend the following method:

1. Bend over slightly. This way, the tongue will fall out of your mouth a little. 
2. Drop the tongue as far out of the mouth as possible. Make the tongue scraper a little wet with lukewarm water. 
3. Place the tongue scraper as far as possible on the back part of the tongue and breathe out calmly through the nose. 
4. Slowly pull the tongue scraper forward in the mouth.
5. Scrape the tongue once or 3 times with the wide end of the tongue scraper. 
6. Repeat this with the narrow end of the tongue scraper to clean the middle part of your tongue (the V-shape) and then rinse the mouth thoroughly with blue®m mouthwash if necessary. 
7. Do not forget to clean the tongue scraper thoroughly after use. 

So if I may give a piece of advice, try to cleanse the tongue every day. Can’t do it, or do you have any more questions? Then go to your dentist or dental hygienist for advice.