Brushing the tongue with a tongue scraper or a brush: false good idea?

1. Why use a tongue scraper or brush your tongue?

2. How to ensure the cleanliness of your tongue?

3. Tongue scraper, scraper... What products should I use?

4. To conclude...

Many of us have probably already wondered about this. 🤔 Between those who recommend using a tongue scraper or tongue brushing , and those who ban this practice, debates are going well in France.

The primary motivation for fans of the tongue scraper is the elimination of bacteria present on it, for better hygiene and better oral health . But is brushing this organ really beneficial ?

First of all, it is useful to remember that the tongue , and the 17 muscles that make it up, provide several major functions that we need on a daily basis. 👅 The sense of taste of course, thanks to the 10,000 taste buds in our tongue which transmit information to the brain, but the tongue is also used for swallowing and is essential for speech . It is therefore a very important organ, so it is equally important to know how to take care of it in the right way. 👌

The MyVariations team carried out its little investigation and tells you more about this practice, which is quite widespread in France.

When brushing your teeth two to three times a day aims to eliminate dental plaque accumulated over meals and thus ensure good oral hygiene, what is the point of cleaning your tongue? 🤷‍♀️

The difference is that, unlike that of our teeth, the surface of the tongue is not smooth . The tongue is rough, and has a multitude of hollows and folds in which bacteria can easily settle and multiply. 🦠 Therefore, compared to our teeth, our tongue and our mouth in general, actually harbors a much larger bacterial flora, and the latter can easily migrate to the surface of the teeth .

Some people, including some dentists in France and internationally, claim that this phenomenon can lead to various damages in terms of oral hygiene, a deterioration of the natural bacterial flora of the mouth , as well as halitosis ( bad breath ). 😷

However, the majority of dentists and dental health professionals in France oppose this observation, affirming that these organisms are, in fact, far from being mainly responsible for bad breath.

Indeed, the real culprit is dental plaque, responsible for 90% of bad breath, a figure given during one of the Annual Congresses of the French Dental Association. 🦷 Also note that more than 700 types of bacteria are naturally present in our oral flora. Certainly, mainly on the tongue, but many of them pose no danger. On the contrary, they contribute to better digestion, produce essential vitamins or even prevent the intrusion of certain harmful organisms and foreign bodies that can be the cause of oral diseases . 💪

This image of the tongue covered in a dangerous and malicious bacterial population has been used numerous times by various brands of dental products for advertising purposes, when a large proportion of these same bacteria turn out to be useful! 😱 It is therefore wiser not to disrupt their functioning by brushing your tongue too often. If you suffer from bad breath , it is your teeth that need to be given more care.

A reference organization in terms of oral and dental hygiene in France, the UFSBD (French Union for Oral Health) recommends brushing your teeth two to three times a day for 2 to 3 minutes , at using a soft-bristled brush and fluoridated toothpaste , from the gum towards the tooth, then complete this cleaning using complementary products such as dental floss or interdental brushes in the evening.🧑‍⚕️

Learn about the correct way to use interdental brushes beforehand.

It is precisely these dental hygiene recommendations that inspired the concept of MyVariations sonic vibration electric toothbrushes , specially designed to facilitate their application. A vocation which turns out to be very useful, since according to several studies carried out by dentists, the French are the dunces of cleaning their teeth, with an average cleaning time of 43 seconds instead of the 2 to 3 minutes recommended by dentists. A quarter of them even admitted to brushing their teeth less than twice a day... 🥴
These devices are equipped with flexible soft nylon bristles , and an integrated 2 minute timer. Additionally, sonic technology that replicates the vertical motion of manual brushing is much gentler on gums and tooth enamel.

Discover our toothbrushes

To answer this question, two schools oppose and contradict each other.

First of all, most professionals in the dental sector affirm that the tongue does not require any effort on our part to clean. In fact, it itself ensures this function thanks to the saliva that we secrete and that we swallow mechanically between 1000 and 2000 times a day. 👄

Despite this remarkable ability, some people can suffer from salivary underproduction which may be due to illness , side effects of medications , or which is simply innate to them. This dry mouth is particularly accentuated in people who breathe a lot through their mouth, those who smoke , or in the case of dehydration caused by alcohol consumption.🍺 In this situation, cleaning the tongue may be possible.

You've probably already noticed a whitish coating on your tongue when you haven't drunk enough water, for example.💧 This substance is actually composed of a mixture of saliva and these famous bacteria, which can synthesize volatile compounds. sulfurous, with an unpleasant odor , hence the preconceived idea which places the tongue as the sole responsible for halitosis.

It is precisely this deposit that the followers of tongue scraping naturally designate as an enemy to be eliminated.💥 Therefore, it is for this reason that some recommend scraping (because that is the appropriate term), undoubtedly out of concern hygiene. These same people use a tongue cleaner, or scraper, on a daily basis, but many do it too often.
However, this white layer should not be taken too lightly if burning or tingling sensations accompany it, these may be signs of a white tongue (or saburrale ) , a mycosis that must be treated!

Christophe Lequart, dental surgeon with his practice in France and spokesperson for the French Union for Oral Health, has also confirmed that daily brushing only concerns the teeth , and that of the tongue should only be realized only occasionally. However, it is an action that requires gentleness and delicacy. 💆‍♀️

The procedure for scraping the tongue is relatively simple, but must respect certain rules. And it’s all in the term “scraping”.

Indeed, it is absolutely not recommended to use a toothbrush to clean your tongue! 🪥 The hairs of the latter would create micro-lesions on its surface, where bacteria of all types could further engulf. Especially since the majority of people opt for medium or hard bristles, which can attack the sensitive surface of the tongue (as much as that of the teeth, for that matter). 🙅‍♂️

Instead, use a tongue scraper , or a tongue scraper (also called a scraper ), like the one located on the back of the head of some brush models - usually in the form of small rubber nubs - and go through -good from back to front. ☝️ It is not necessary to apply too much pressure, you risk damaging your taste buds. If your breath still worries you, preferably use a suitable mouthwash , without overusing it too frequently.

While cleaning your teeth is recommended 2 to 3 times a day, this is not the case for your tongue. Cleaning this organ on a daily basis has no significant effect on your breath or oral hygiene, and it can even be counterproductive to clean your tongue too often, as it risks crowding out the bacteria necessary for digestion. and the protection of your teeth. 😕

Only salivary underproduction can justify the need to clean this organ occasionally, but always gently . 🌸 To do this, we favor a tongue scraper or the tongue scraper present on the back of the majority of toothbrushes, and we avoid using their bristles directly, which are too abrasive for our delicate taste buds!

However, there are a certain number of rules to follow to maintain a healthy mouth , avoid halitosis and keep a healthy tongue: