Using a Tongue Scraper:
1. Take your tongue scraper and keep your mouth wide open as you push your tongue out a little bit. By doing this, you make your tongue easier to reach.
2. Hold the two ends of the tongue scraper and take it to the back most portion of the tongue. You may experience a gag reflex when the scraper touches the rear part of the tongue. Initially you may not be able to control your gag reflex, but you’ll quickly get used to it and become able to scrape further back on the tongue.
3. Gently run the scraper from the back of your tongue to the front of your tongue. During this stroke, the scraper rubs against the tongue surface and the food debris gets collected on the rough surface of the scraper while it’s in contact with the tongue.
4. You will find a yellowish exudate coming out on the scraper if you haven’t scraped in a while. As you do this more and more, the exudate will be clear in color. Initially you may have to scrape your tongue everyday and then taper it off to once every few days or once a week, depending on your preference.
How often should you clean your tongue?
Considering how little time it takes, it’s not a bad idea to just go ahead and do it every time you brush your teeth. The hope is a habit will set in where your mouth won’t feel clean unless you’ve cleaned your tongue too.
Cleaning your tongue doesn’t just help to keep your breath fresh.
Studies have also shown that after a few weeks of cleaning your tongue many people find that their sense of taste increases too – meaning you’ll enjoy your food more. In other words, cleaning your tongue should be seen as an important and integral part of your daily oral hygiene routine.