Tongue-Brushing to reduce bad breath

A study on bad breath compared the effectiveness of tongue-brushing, mouth-rinsing and gum-chewing. They measured each treatment with a halimeter — a device that measures the levels of VSCs (volatile sulfur compounds) on one’s breath.

What did they find? The scientific team found that mouthwashes rated ‘fair’ in reducing bad breath. Chewing gum (whether sugarless or not) did NOT reduce the amount of VSCs in one’s mouth. In fact, chewing gum regularly can give microorganisms in the mouth more food to thrive, resulting in more VSCs.

What did the team find as the best solution? Tongue-brushing. They recommend that this be done from back to front to get the highest amount of microbes removed. Coating the tongue scraper with a specialty breath-freshening product would make it even more effective. Tongue-brushing helps eliminate the nasty bad breath causing bugs, but also penetrates deep below the tongue’s surface for an even more thorough cleaning.  International Dental Journal.