1.DrTung’s Tongue Cleaner
One of the most widely regarded and highest rated tongue cleaners available today, drTung’s tongue cleaner is made from stainless steel and comes nicely packaged and even has a travel pouch included. The shape of the cleaner is somewhere between a U and a V, with thick rubber grips on the end of the stainless steel to act like handles. There is a nice degree of flex in the material and although steel by its very makeup is strong, it is not too rigid. Thick enough that it does not feel too sharp (in our opinion) when pulled along, it is not so thick that there is no scraping sensation. It could be considered a little harsh on the edge, certainly more so than the HealthandYoga option.
The handles can be used as grips as you pull the cleaner from the back of the tongue to the front and can be used either one handed or two handed. Two hands gives a little more control. We did not get a choice of coloured rubber grips, but depending on where you buy it you may do. The simple design and metal construction means that you do not need to replace it regularly, and in fact it can last for years. To clean it a simple rinse under warm water or a wipe with a cloth will suffice. The travel pouch is a really great inclusion to not only protect from damage and dirt when travelling with it but just making it easier to access. The design is perhaps a little feminine and a pouch in one solid colour would have been preferred, but it is the only one of all the scrapers that includes a pouch at all.
2 Amano Tongue Cleaner
This is to the tongue scrapers what Ralph Lauren and Gucci are to the fashion world. I didn’t think a tongue scraper could be so fancy. Packaged in a smart hard plastic case, the scraper is available in a variety of designs to fit your style and preference. There is attention to detail in the design and finish with large easy to hold handles and smart fixings between these and the metal scraper. The head is made of 18/10 Austenitic Steel – a high-grade chromium and nickel alloy that will stand the test of time and delivers an effective cleanse of the tongue with every pass. There are lots of tongue scrapers on the market today and we encourage you to use any over not cleaning your tongue at all.
However you might as well opt for one of the better ones right? Here are a selection of other scrapers that we believed to be best among those we tested. We have included a few lines to explain each and what we think about them. Just because we have rated drTung’s as our choice, need not mean it is the best choice for you. The travel pouch is a really great inclusion to not only protect from damage and dirt when travelling with it but just making it easier to access. The design is perhaps a little feminine and a pouch in one solid colour would have been preferred, but it is the only one of all the scrapers that includes a pouch at all.
3. DenTek Comfort Clean Tongue Cleaner
With a handle much like a traditional toothbrush, the head is essentially circular with 3 scraping edges that run along the surface of the tongue. It comes neatly packaged with clear instructions on how to use it. The scraper has a ‘mint’ flavour to the scraping edges. We could smell this when held under the nose, but noticed no taste transfer to the tongue during the time we were using it. Whether it had affect on my breath was impossible for us to tell. Whilst the mint flavour was still noticed after our 3 weeks of testing, we can’t really say that this will persist over a longer period.
The head itself covers a large area of the tongue and perhaps would require less repetitive strokes as the 3 scraping edges mimic this in many respects. It does feel a little flimsy and although it is not going to break unless excessive force is used, over time the head may become weaker than the metal alternatives. The nodules are amongst the thickest of all the scrapers, but the overall design and single row of scrapers means it covers a smaller surface area and well it seems an opportunity missed in the middle of the brush head. This scraper offers a very soft cleaning experience, whilst you could feel it scraping certainly did not leave the same just scraped/cleaned feeling and taste that we hoped for.
4. Orabrush Tongue Cleaner Fresh Breath Brush With Scraper
You certainly do become used to it, but the number of bristles that scrape along the tongue surface created a sensation that felt a bit strange. The combination of bristles and scraper work well to clean the tongue. With this scraper we had the feeling we had really had put some effort into cleaning our tongue, but the sensation appeared to last longer. The scraper is much like a normal toothbrush, but the head is much wider and there is a different bristle arrangement to normal toothbrushes.
The handle was certainly strong and felt like it would stand the test of time.The recommendation from DenTek, the manufacturer of Orabrush, is to replace this every 3-4 months, roughly the same time you would replace a manual toothbrush or an electric toothbrush head. Whilst this is certainly feasible, the long term cost certainly makes this a more expensive option compared to the longer lasting options available today. In fact it is more expensive than most manual toothbrushes or electric toothbrush heads.
5. HealthAndYoga Surgical Grade Stainless Steel Tongue Cleaner Scraper
This scraper is an all-metal construction, like drTung’s, and there are nicely rounded handles/grips at the two ends compared to the rubber with drTungs. Whilst the rubber tips are easier to hold onto, especially when wet, the end of the scraper tends not to be too exposed to moisture and as such poses little issue. Made of stainless steel, the packaging clearly labeled this as ‘surgical steel’. The difference? Well truthfully none. Surgical steel is often used as a marketing term that applies typically to a particular grade of stainless steel, but there is no official classification of what is surgical steel compared to normal stainless steel.
However, these different ‘grades’ do relate to the makeup of the steel with ‘surgical steel’ often meeting grade 316 that helps minimise metallic contamination compared to the 440 and 420 grade that is often used in cutlery. It is not clear what grade of metal is used in drTung’s scraper to be able to compare. We would be inclined to believe it is 316 but not marketed in this way. Simple but effective packaging, the tongue cleaner does not come with any travel pouch and of the metal scrapers tested, the edges were slightly more rounded and felt to the touch softer, although the strength of the steel means that it still offered a firm scrape.
Tongue Cleaner 