What Is Tongue Scraping and Should You Do It?
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Medically reviewed by Edmund Khoo, DDS
If you have bad breath (halitosis) in the morning or you are particularly bothered by the white coating that sometimes forms on your tongue, you may be wondering if tongue scraping is right for you.
Tongue scraping—or tongue cleaning as it is sometimes called—involves using a tool to remove the coating that forms on your tongue, particularly overnight. This coating is often the result of buildup from food debris, toxins, and bacteria.
There is some evidence that tongue scraping can also help improve bad breath and remove excess bacteria from your mouth.
Here is what you need to know about tongue scraping.
What Is Tongue Scraping?
Tongue scraping, or jihwa prakshalana, involves using a metal or plastic tool to scrape the coating off your tongue first thing in the morning. The idea behind tongue scraping is that overnight, your body processes everything that it consumed during the day, and creates a white coating of toxins that sits on top of your tongue. Tongue scraping is about preventing the reabsorption of the toxins that your body expelled overnight.
Rooted in Ayurvedic medicine, tongue scraping has been practiced for centuries in other parts of the world, but has not traditionally been a common practice in the U.S. However, there is growing interest in tongue scraping, particularly since research shows that it can be a useful tool in an oral hygiene regimen. For instance, research has shown that plaque-forming streptococcal count can increase tenfold after a week of not brushing the tongue.
Those who practice Ayurvedic medicine believe that your body's primary organs can be mapped on the surface of your tongue, so that you can gain insight into how your internal organs are functioning when you observe your tongue. The color of the coating as well as the quantity can be a good indication as to whether or not your body was able to digest the food you consumed the previous day or indicators of potential problems that need to be addressed.
Benefits of Tongue Scraping
When you add tongue scraping to your daily oral regimen, you may experience a number of potential health benefits.
May Freshen Your Breath
Sometimes bad breath is caused by poor oral hygiene. Other times, it's the result of an underlying medical condition like respiratory system issues, gastrointestinal disease, endocrine system disorders, and others.
However, one old review and meta analysis from 2013 found that consistent tongue scraping lowered chronic bad breath better than brushing your teeth alone. Researchers suggested that tongue cleaning may be a beneficial addition to your oral care routine if you want to eliminate bad breath.
May Improve Oral Health
According to the National Institute of Health, your mouth is filled with 700 species of bacteria and fungus. While some of these microbes are beneficial, some can increase your risk of gum disease, cavities, and plaque buildup. And while many of these bacteria can build up on your teeth, they also can collect on your tongue. Tongue scraping can help remove these substances.
For instance, one older study found that tongue scraping—even over a short period of time—lowered the amount of bacteria on the tongue, but it did not impact the amount of dental plague. For this reason, researchers noted that combining tooth brushing with tongue scraping could reduce the amount of bacteria in your mouth and improve your oral health.
May Support Digestion
When you scrape your tongue, you may notice an improvement in the function of your digestive system. In fact, health experts that follow an Ayurvedic philosophy believe that scraping toxins off of your tongue is key to preventing those toxins from being absorbed back into your system.
While research is limited on how tongue scraping benefits digestion, one study found that four weeks of tongue scraping could improve digestive symptoms. For instance, researchers noted that participants in the study reported significant improvements in constipation and fewer watery and foul-smelling stools. The participants also reported less fatigue overall.
May Improve Your Sense of Taste
Proponents of tongue scraping speculate that regularly cleaning your tongue may make foods taste better. In fact, researchers in an older study set out to determine if tongue scraping had an impact on taste. During the study, researchers noted that tongue scraping significantly reduced the participants' tongue coating, and they reported an improved ability to taste the complexities of their food, particularly bitter tastes and salt. However, this was a small study, so more robust research is needed to confirm these results.
May Stimulate Internal Organs (Per Ayurvedic Medicine)
Those who practice Ayurvedic medicine believe that different areas of the tongue correspond to different areas of your body. Consequently, different coatings or colors could indicate a particular issue in your body.
Although there are no formal studies to support this practice, many experts who use this approach to medicine believe you can use tongue scraping to gently massage your internal organs and promote movement internally. For instance, they believe the back area of the tongue corresponds to the colon. So, when you scrape the back of your tongue, you are encouraging peristalsis, which are the wave-like contractions your colon makes to move food through the digestive tract.
Who It's For
If you experience bad breath often, you may want to consider tongue scraping. In fact, research indicates that tongue coating can be the primary cause of bad breath. Removing this bacteria from the tongue can help improve your bad breath symptoms. Even if you do not have bad breath, you may enjoy the clean, fresh feeling you get from tongue scraping.
It is important to note that tongue scraping should not replace brushing, flossing, and regular dental visits. These steps are the essential first steps toward good oral hygiene. And while there is no harm in tongue brushing, the American Dental Association indicates that it is not a required step, but more of a personal preference.
How To Do It
Tongue scraping is a relatively intuitive process. The important thing to note is you shouldn't be rough with your tongue or scrape it forcefully, which could cause discomfort or injury. Instead, focus on being slow and gentle. There are a lot of tongue scraper products available.
Here's how to use a tongue scraper:
Scrape your tongue first thing in the morning before you drink water.
Stick your tongue out, allowing it to be loose and heavy.
Move the tongue scraper from the back of your tongue to the front.
Rinse the tongue scraper and repeat. Some experts recommend gently scraping your tongue as many as five to seven times, but you may want to work up to this number.
Follow with brushing and flossing your teeth.
Drink a glass of warm water when you are done.
Wash your tongue scraper with soap water and store in a clean, dry place.
Risks and Side Effects
Tongue scraping is a relatively safe procedure without many known risks or side effects. That said, it is always a good idea to talk to a dentist about the pros and cons of tongue scraping before trying it for the first time.
There also is some preliminary evidence that tongue scraping could negatively impact the diversity of your oral microbiome. For instance, some studies have found that certain microbes that live on the back of your tongue convert a nutrient found in plant-based foods into nitric oxide, which is beneficial for your heart and circulatory health. But when you scrape the back of your tongue this reduces or eliminates this source nitric oxide, which can lead to hypertension. The same thing occurs when people use antiseptic mouthwash.
There also is an older case study connecting the use of a tongue scraper with endocarditis. A person with a valve defect in her heart was also engaging in tongue scraping. Later, they were diagnosed with endocarditis that researchers believe was connected to the bacteria on her tongue scraper. Consequently, researchers suggest that people with abnormal cardiac valves and devices like pacemakers may be at risk.
When To See Your Healthcare Provider or Dentist
Anytime you notice significant changes in the color or texture of your tongue, you should see a healthcare provider, especially if your symptoms last longer than two weeks. You also should call a healthcare provider if you notice any lumps, bumps, sores, or swelling in your tongue.
Any pain warrants a visit to your healthcare provider as well, since it be a sign of oral cancer. In fact, you should request a cancer screening if the pain persists for several days, you have red or white patches on tongue, or your tongue is itchy.
It's up to you whether you schedule an appointment with a dentist or doctor. Though, many people select a dentist due to the fact that they specialize in oral health. If additional testing is needed, a dentist will often collaborate with a healthcare provider on the next steps.
A Quick Review
Tongue scraping is an ancient practice rooted in Ayurvedic medicine that is designed to remove buildup from your tongue with a specialized too. Scraping your tongue can improve your oral hygiene and offer some health benefits like reduced bad breath and improved digestion. While tongue scraping is a relatively safe and risk-free approach to improving your oral health, you should still talk to a dental professional to determine if it is right for you.
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Read the original article on Health.
