What is a tongue cleaner?
In addition to the normal toothbrush, there are special tongue cleaners with which you can easily clean the back third of the tongue. Using a tongue cleaner can prevent bad breath, improve taste sensation and promote health. Tongue cleaner can remove the bacteria that are deposited in a variety of ways on the tongue.
The head of a regular toothbrush is too large to clean the back of the tongue. For this reason, the special tongue cleaners are designed to be very flat, long and narrow so that the tongue can be cleaned easily. The tongue cleaner is available in every drugstore and is especially important in the prevention of bad breath.
Is a tongue cleaner useful?
A tongue cleaner is a good addition to daily oral hygiene. Especially on the back parts of the tongue a lot of bacteria are deposited. Often an unpleasant tasting coating is formed on the tongue, which can be removed by the tongue cleaner.
The bacteria are able to metabolize food leftovers and other food particles on the tongue without hindrance, resulting in sulfur-containing compounds. These can cause unpleasant bad breath. A tongue cleaner is therefore very useful to prevent bad breath on the one hand and to reduce the bacterial flora in the mouth on the other hand.
Furthermore, frequent gum bleeding or caries can be prevented. However, it is very important that the tongue cleaner does not replace the two more important parts of daily oral hygiene. These consist of brushing your teeth and using interdental brushes and/or dental floss. Especially in case of strong deposits on the tongue, bad breath, an unpleasant taste in the mouth or diseases of the tongue, the use of a tongue cleaner is very useful as a supplement to daily oral hygiene.
Which material is recommended for tongue cleaners?
Most tongue cleaners available in drugstores are made of plastic. This makes them very light and graceful and makes them easy to handle. Furthermore they can be cleaned very well.
As an alternative to plastic, there are also tongue cleaners made of stainless steel. These are usually not available in drugstores. Which material is preferred for the tongue cleaner is up to your own preference. In addition to the material, the tongue cleaners differ in additional shapes. There are additionally attached nubs or lamellas, which offer a stimulation of the tongue or other cleaning performance.
All articles in this series: