What is tongue scraping?
This is an ancient ayurvedic oral hygiene practice that removes bacteria, food debris, fungi, toxins, and dead cells from the surface of the tongue. Since the oral cavity is one of the main gateways between your body and the environment, maintaining the health of this connection is critical to general well-being.
Scraping the tongue daily removes any toxic build-up on the tongue, which, if left untreated, can lead to bad breath and may house a significant number of bacteria. Almost half of our oral bacteria live on and in the deep crevices of our tongue. Tongue scraping collects these toxic tongue coatings and removes them from the body. A study published in the Journal of Peridontology found that a tongue scraper performed better than a toothbrush in the reduction of bad breath and other oral hygiene.
Where can I find a tongue scraper?
Tongue scrapers are inexpensive, and can be found at most health food stores as well as online. Chose a stainless steel scraper because they are easier to clean.
How to scrape your tongue
- In the morning, right after you wake up, scrape your tongue. Make it the first thing you do. Even if you wake up in the middle of the night, scraping the tongue followed by a glass of water can reduce accumulating digestive toxins.
- With a relaxed tongue, using your U-shaped tongue scraper, gently reach to the back of the tongue and scrape the tongue from back to front. Repeat this 5-10 times, reaching as far back as comfortable, rinsing the scraper after each pass.
- Follow tongue scraping with brushing (with non-fluoride toothpaste), flossing, and a large glass of water.
References
1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15341360