TY - JOUR A1 - Atri, Mansi A1 - Anup, N T1 - Impact of an effective tongue cleaner- A randomized double-blind, parallel design study Y1 - 2013/1/1 JF - Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry JO - J Indian Assoc Public Health Dent SP - 6 EP - 12 VL - 11 IS - 1 UR - https://journals.lww.com/aphd/pages/default.aspx/article.asp?issn=2319-5932;year=2013;volume=11;issue=1;spage=6;epage=12;aulast=Atri N2 - Introduction : In order to remove tongue biofilm and improve breath odor, specific instruments(tongue scrapers) or toothbrushes are used. Material & Methods: This study compared the effectiveness of a manual toothbrush that has atongue scraper on the back of its head and two commercially available tongue scrapers in reducingthe tongue coating and aerobic and anaerobic microbiota of the tongue dorsum. A randomized,negative controlled, double-blind, parallel design study for three different treatment interventionswas conducted. Results: All tongue cleaners showed a significant reduction in Winkel's tongue coating scoreswith significant values of reduction (p<0.001) of anaerobic bacterial count reported with plastic andmetal tongue scraper when compared to brush scraper. Conclusion: There was an effective reduction of bacterial load on tongue dorsum with the useof tongue cleaners, with maximum load reduction by using plastic tongue cleaners. ER -