Effectiveness of a new toothbrush design versus a conventional tongue scraper in improving breath odor and reducing tongue microbiota

• Autor(a) principal: Casemiro, Luciana Assirati
• Data de Publicação: 2008
• Outros Autores: Martins, Carlos Henrique Gomes, Carvalho, Tatiane Cruz de, Panzeri, Heitor, Lavrador, Marco Aurélio Sichirolli, Pires-de-Souza, Fernanda de Carvalho Panzeri
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Journal of applied oral science (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://www.revistas.usp.br/jaos/article/view/3580
• topic: Tongue biofilm; Tongue scraper; Toothbrush; Salivary bacterial count; Halimeter

For centuries, specific instruments or regular toothbrushes have routinely been used to remove tongue biofilm and improve breath odor. Toothbrushes with a tongue scraper on the back of their head have recently been introduced to the market. The present study compared the effectiveness of a manual toothbrush with this new design, i.e., possessing a tongue scraper, and a commercial tongue scraper in improving breath odor and reducing the aerobic and anaerobic microbiota of tongue surface. The evaluations occurred at 4 moments, when the participants (n=30) had their halitosis quantified with a halimeter and scored according to a 4-point scoring system corresponding to different levels of intensity. Saliva was collected for counts of aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. Data were analyzed statistically by Friedman's test (p