{"id":72,"date":"2021-07-22T21:11:36","date_gmt":"2021-07-22T21:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dentalandimplantcare.com\/bell-dentist\/?p=72"},"modified":"2021-07-22T21:11:38","modified_gmt":"2021-07-22T21:11:38","slug":"the-why-when-how-and-where-of-tongue-scraping-bell-dentist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dentalandimplantcare.com\/bell-dentist\/2021\/07\/22\/the-why-when-how-and-where-of-tongue-scraping-bell-dentist\/","title":{"rendered":"The Why, When, How and Where of Tongue Scraping | Bell Dentist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Imagine it\u2019s still winter \u2026 you\u2019re standing at the door, ready to brave the cold. You\u2019re layered-up with three shirts and a sweatshirt, your heavy winter coat, and two layers of socks underneath your waterproof winter boots. Then you\u2019ve got those awesome jeans with the flannel on the inside, your comfy hat, scarf, and gloves. You\u2019re set! But wait. As you step toward the door, you suddenly realize you have an itch \u2026 and it\u2019s deep down \u2026 buried beneath all those layers. And try as you may, every attempt to reach that bugger-of-an-itch fails. Defeated, you realize the only relief you\u2019re ever gonna\u2019 get is to remove each one of those layers. Where are we going with this?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re going inside your mouth, of course, to your tongue \u2013 this is a dental article, after all! Because whether you know it or not, like you in the wintertime, your tongue is also \u201call covered up\u201d \u2013 buried beneath layers of bacteria, fungi, and food residue that can inhibit your ability to taste, let alone cause your tongue to appear various shades of yellow, white, or green! Remove the bacteria, though, and your food will once again directly interact with those taste buds and return to its natural hue. So how does one do that? With a tongue scraper<\/a>, of course!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT is a tongue scraper?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tongue scraper is a U-shaped device designed to \u201cscrape\u201d the top layer of scum from your tongue. They have been in use since ancient times and have been made of everything from wood to whalebone. Nowadays, they are made of more hygienic material, and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, designs and colors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHY use a tongue scraper?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The residue on your tongue includes things like the cavity-inducing Streptococcus mutans bacterium, fungi, rotting food (that\u2019s not good), and what\u2019s referred to as \u201cvolatile sulfur compounds.\u201d In other words, sulfur<\/a> \u2013 that \u201crotting egg smell.\u201d Talk about ew! So, as you can see, there are several reasons why you\u2019d want to get rid of this gunk in your mouth. Let\u2019s tackle them one by one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n