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Bogged down by bad breath?
Using a tongue-scraping device might be
a better solution than brushing the tongue with a toothbrush.
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD
|
Researchers recently reviewed
two studies that pitted tongue scrapers against toothbrushes in
curbing bad breath.
The results, published in The Cochrane Library, state that
"tongue scrapers or cleaners are slightly more effective than
toothbrushes as a means of controlling halitosis (bad breath) in
adults."
However, the evidence was "weak and unreliable" and relief from
bad breath "appeared to be very short-lived," write the review’s
authors. They included Trent Outhouse, D.D.S, M.S, ABGD, a
lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy’s Dental Corps serving in
Bahrain.
Battling Bad Breath
Currently, there is "controversy" and "no standard and accepted
protocols" for treating bad breath, the researchers write.
Besides mechanical methods — brushing or scraping the tongue —
strategies include using chemicals that attempt to destroy
odor-forming bacteria and/or mask bad breath.
Outhouse and colleagues searched for high-quality scientific
studies in which people with bad breath were randomly assigned
to use tongue scrapers, toothbrushes, or mouthwashes to fight
bad breath.
The researchers only found two short-term trials, neither of
which included mouthwashes. Both trials excluded smokers and
people with illnesses that might affect their breath’s smell.
The studies both used machines to measure participants’ levels
of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), which are linked to bad
breath. That way, results weren’t based on personal opinions
about breath quality.
Studying Bad Breath
One of the studies was done in Germany. It included 30 adults
with high levels of volatile sulfur compounds.
Participants were assigned to use one of three devices to brush
their tongues: a regular toothbrush, a tongue scraper, or a
brush-scraper combination. Once a week for four weeks,
participants had their VSC levels checked before and after a
tongue-cleaning session.
VSC levels dropped 42 percent with the brush-scraper, 40 percent
with the scraper, and 33 percent with the brush. But those
reductions didn’t last more than 30 minutes, according to the
review.
The other study included 10 adults at Brazil’s University of Sao
Paolo. Participants cleaned their tongues with a tongue scraper
one week and a soft-bristle toothbrush another week, taking a
two-day break between treatments.
Before-and-after VSC tests showed that average VSC levels
dropped 75 percent with the tongue scraper, compared with 45
percent with the toothbrush.
Six participants in the Brazilian study complained of nausea and
one of tongue trauma while using the toothbrush. All were
"receptive to the tongue scraper," the researchers write.
SOURCES:
Outhouse, T. The Cochrane Library 2006, Issue 2. Health Behavior
News Service.
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© 2006, WebMD Inc. All rights reserved. |
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