Effectiveness of Various Tongue Cleaning Aids in the Reduction of Tongue Coating and Bacterial Load: A Comparative Clinical Study.

AIM: To remove tongue biofilm and improve breath odor, specific instruments (tongue scrapers) or toothbrushes are used.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This study compared the effectiveness of a manual toothbrush that has a tongue scraper on the back of its head and two commercially available tongue scrapers in reducing the tongue coating and aerobic and anaerobic microbiota of the tongue dorsum. A randomized, negative controlled, double-blind, parallel design study for three different treatment interventions was conducted.

RESULTS

All tongue cleaners showed a significant reduction in Winkle's tongue coating scores with significant values of reduction (p <0.001) of the anaerobic bacterial count with plastic and metal tongue scraper when compared to brush scrapper.

CONCLUSION

There was an effective reduction of bacterial load on tongue dorsum with the use of tongue cleaners, with maximum load reduction by using plastic tongue cleaners.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The results of the present study may be helpful for the dentists while prescribing tongue cleaners to their patients in their clinical practice.