Have you ever brushed your teeth several times but still don’t feel clean. So, you try a mouthwash and it helps but a few hours later you feel like you need to brush again?
Or you have gnarly breath in the morning, even though you brushed right before bed?
You need a tongue scraper.
This little metal contraption will change your mouth health. That feels like a weird way to say that but it’s true. Over 80% of the bacteria in your mouth live on your tongue. That’s why even after brushing you just never quite get that squeaky clean and refreshed feeling that you’re looking for. This practice dates back over 5,000 years in both Indian and Chinese cultures. Maeve O’Sullivan, co-founder of Escapada Health and Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner says “The idea is that it clears toxins, bacteria, and dead cells that build up overnight whilst you sleep and also prevents them from being reabsorbed back into the body.”
The first step is to check out your tongue, what color is it? If it’s any color other than pink, you need to clean it. The most common color will be a white or off-white coating, but can be dark or even black in some really bad cases. Step two, just scrap it off. A tongue scraper is a U-shaped piece of metal that you place as far back on your tongue as you can and then just gently scrape it forward. Rinse it off and repeat until you think you got everything. Five times should be enough to get it all, you shouldn’t need more than 10 scraps. And I repeat gently, don’t try to rip your tongue off. You definitely shouldn’t be bleeding afterwards, I have before when I was rushing and not paying attention to the pressure. Luckily the tongue heals very quickly, but you want to avoid this since it’s easier for bacteria to enter your bloodstream through the open wounds you just created. Finally, just clean off your tongue scraper, I spray mine down with a little hydrogen peroxide and wash it off. Pat it dry and store it away until the next time.
You can decide if you need this more than once a day, just in the morning is good enough for me.
Benefits:
- Fresher breath
- Improved sense of taste
- Cleaner mouth and gums
- Improved Immunity
- Improved Digestion
Getting all the gunk off of the tongue allows it to perform its functions more easily. The salivary glands aren’t as suffocated so they can start to produce more saliva and digestive enzymes easier that allow for more proper digestion. Same with your taste buds. Since they don’t have the world’s grossest blanket laying on top of them anymore, it’s much easier to activate the tastebuds.
The removal of this extra bacterial build-up leads to a healthier mouth overall. Healthier teeth and gums since the presence of the bacteria has been greatly reduced. This extra step can also improve your immune system, since the GI tract begins with the mouth. By eliminating all the bacteria and toxins you can help prevent issues further down the line like infections or bacterial overgrowths that can disrupt your gut health. There’s even new links discovered between oral health and dementia. The brain can be exposed to the bacterias associated with gum disease through the blood vessels found in the mouth. Repeated exposure is thought to trigger responses that can kill brain cells.1
Choosing a tongue scraper
The great news is tongue scrapers are incredibly inexpensive. A good one will cost you less than 10 dollars. I found mine several years ago at Whole Foods, it’s a Dr. Tung’s Stainless Steel Tongue Cleaner. I like that it has silicone handles and comes with a little storage pouch. You will notice that basically, all the options are almost exactly the same so the only thing you really need to look for is the material. Make sure it’s either stainless steel or copper. Both of these materials help inhibit bacterial growth on the surface of the metal.
And that’s it, it really is that simple. A small piece of metal can have a huge impact on your overall health. Give it a shot and let me know how it works out for you!
References:
- ALZHEIMER’S, ORAL HEALTH AND THE MOUTH TO BRAIN CONNECTION. (n.d.). Dentist Toronto & Dental Care Toronto. Retrieved April 16, 2022, from https://cityoasis.dental/blog/2019/06/11/alzheimers-and-oral-health
