Copper Tongue Scraper

As the function of the microbiota of the mouth becomes more understood, ancient techniques to support oral hygiene are becoming more popular.

Tongue Scraping is a traditional Ayurvedic ritual (Jihwa Prakshalana) to rid the mouth of harmful substances, gently detoxifying while enhancing all senses of taste.

Scrape away debris, build up, and volatile oils while your breath’s scent is cleansed in the process.

Key Benefits –
Reduces undesirable bacteria in the mouth that can compromise gum, teeth and oral health.
Reduces volatile sulfur compounds (VSC), which are by-products of mouth bacteria linked to bad breath.
Improves taste sensation and reduces tongue coating.
Changes the environment of the mouth to reduce putrefaction and decrease bacterial load.

While a gold or silver tongue scraper would be amazing, new research on the health benefits of copper make a copper tongue scraper hard to beat. Copper has been used for centuries as a bacteria-resistant metal, and new studies are confirming these ancient practices.

Copper may be the best metal to be used for tongue scraping because the mouth is loaded with both good and not-so-good bacteria. Copper not only seems to be toxic to the bad bacteria, it also provides important enzymes that are needed for the healthy microbes in the mouth to survive.

In one study, the antiseptic benefits of copper were so great that, when copper was put in hospital rooms as furnishings, the bacteria count on all of the surfaces in the rooms was significantly reduced.

Upon rising, and before drinking water, scrape your tongue 5-10 times with a soft, relaxed tongue. Reach to the back of the tongue and comfortably scrape the toxins off the tongue and rinse each time. Follow your ritual with brushing your teeth and flossing, before consuming your first conscious creation of the day.

References

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16032940
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15341360
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15191584
Charaka Samhita. Sutrasthana. Ch 5. Verse 71-75
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22341460
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3067274/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22173515
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23579907
http://aem.asm.org/content/77/3/794