# Tongue scrapers - what's the straight dope? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442 "2005-03-01T15:52:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442/1 "2005-03-01T15:52:55Z")
Every once in a while, when visiting someone’s house, I notice in the bathroom a few of those yucky looking tongue scrapers. Does anyone use one of these? Does it do anything more than just rinsing your mouth would do? I’ve never had a dentist who mentioned using or recommended using one of these. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442/2 "2005-03-01T16:23:19Z")
They’re popular in India, I hear. One of my mom’s grad students gave her some, and she brought them home to show us. Since then, I’ve heard dentists advocate their use, but they haven’t caught on in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442/3 "2005-03-01T16:28:36Z")
I have one and use it on a regular basis. I use it before brushing in the evening. Depending on what I’ve eaten, there’s a lot of stuff that is removed from my tongue. Now I’ll admit that I can’t say exactly what that substance is, but it looks as though getting it off there is a good idea. Oh, mine isn’t yucky because I clean it after each use. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442/4 "2005-03-01T16:28:38Z")
I had never heard of them until Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. But I don’t get it. I’ve been brushing my tongue for YEARS, every single time I brush my teeth. Doesn’t this accomplish the exact same thing with less equipment … and less yuck? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442/5 "2005-03-01T16:33:36Z")
> [@Ellen Cherry](#): > > I had never heard of them until Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. But I don’t get it. I’ve been brushing my tongue for YEARS, every single time I brush my teeth. Doesn’t this accomplish the exact same thing with less equipment … and less yuck? I tried that and didn’t have much success. With the scraper I just place it at the back of the tongue and pull forward. Rinse and repeat if required. Takes about 15 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442/6 "2005-03-01T16:41:13Z")
I had never heard of these until reading _Infinite Jest_, where, in the near future, a monumentally hideous, yet effective, tongue scraper commercial leads to the downfall of the television networks. I thought the author was kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442/7 "2005-03-01T18:07:55Z")
I hear that the scrapers get more junk out of your tongue than brushing does. I have one, and it definitely gets crud out of there when I scrape. I think it’s also easier to go further back on the tongue than with a brush, the scraper is low profile. Mine has a double scraping bar, I assume to open up whatever pores/folds are in your tongue to assist deep cleaning. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442/8 "2005-03-01T18:48:46Z")
Where can I find them? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442/9 "2005-03-01T19:31:08Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Where can I find them? I asked my dentist and he gave me one, so perhaps you could ask? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442/10 "2005-03-01T19:32:22Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Where can I find them? The plastic ones can be found at Walgreens, by the floss and all that stuff. My metal one is a Dr. Tungs, [http://www.dreamcastle.com/tungs/](http://www.dreamcastle.com/tungs/) ,and was bought at a Wild Oats food store. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442/11 "2005-03-01T19:46:33Z")
My dentist told me to get one, so I did. But I pretty much listen to anything my dentist suggested on my last trip since I hadn’t been in several years. (I wasn’t in that bad shape fortunately). Nevertheless, when it comes to dentistry, I could just buy the equivalent of rust coating or some other such thing. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tongue-scrapers-whats-the-straight-dope/292442/12 "2005-03-01T21:00:32Z")
My dentist gives a little one out in every care baggie you get with a cleaning (new brush, floss, etc). You probably could brush all that gunk off of your tongue but this makes it easier. Scrape before brushing, then brush tongue a little bit anyway. not sure what the medical evidence says as far as what it is accomplishing (you do usually get a chunk of crud from the end of it), but it makes my mouth feel more fresh/clean when I use it.