The Blog
Daily Mail: "It's the most attractive tongue cleaner I've seen"

Daily Mail's Good Health section featured the AMANO on 25th November

The Daily Mail asked Dr Phil Stemmer, a West End Dental Practitioner, to review our £12 solution to bad breath (and wider oral care & health issues).

Dr Phil runs the ‘Fresh Breath Centre’, which specialises in bad breath treatments

Interestingly his website says that a first appointment with his ‘Fresh Breath Centre’ will cost £205. Presumably to cure the bad breath there will be a need for further visits and further fees…

Since the tongue is one third of the mouth’s surface area and responsible for 80% of the cases of bad breath – we acknowledge that there are bound to be a huge variety of solutions to this age-old problem.

We believe that at £12 the AMANO would represent excellent value for money – not least because it is built to last a long time (unlike chemical solutions that require repeat and frequently costly purchases).

Our design is based on a 2000-year Roman design - so we are not exactly re-inventing the wheel! (Maybe making it a little more stylish).

And since we launched in 1992 we have developed a very loyal customer base - some of whom are STILL using the very same AMANO's they bought way back in the 1990s. That's a pretty good endorsement (check out the Customer reviews).

We believe the AMANO USP is really about these 3 key equities:

  • Being swift – less than 5 seconds is all it takes
  • Being visibly effective – you will feel rewarded by seeing the offending debris being removed
  • And crucially – having NO GAG affect – so you are able to go to the back of the tongue (where the debris lurks) and feel more relaxed about tongue cleaning as a daily routine.

A major factor in the continuing neglect of the tongue – is the real fear of GAGGING. The AMANO is precisely designed to overcome this.

Anyway back to the review. Not surprisingly perhaps, Dr Phil was sparing in his praise of the AMANO.

He did admit this however:

"It's the most attractive tongue cleaner I've seen"

Bizarrely part of his advice was to;

"Hold your tongue in one hand and scrape it with the other".

That's not (we would suggest) a technique the Romans, Hindus and Victorians would have recognised (or George Washington perhaps?)

Rather than respond directly – here are five (slightly bemused) responses I received to Dr Phil’s review:

Ms GS (Dental Professional + AMANO user)
“I think he is talking a load of nonsense.  My tongue doesn't curl in when I am preparing to use the AMANO and neither does any one else's.  And as for the metal causing pain - !!!!!! -  when has that ever happened??!!"
Ms FS (Dental Professional + AMANO user)
"The man is mad.....this is such an effective cleanser.....who is able to hold their tongue in one hand and clean with the other?  The only way I can hold a tongue (for cancer screening) is with a gauze! I go with the 'most attractive' as well."
Mr TJ (an AMANO user)
“No one holds the tongue with one hand whilst using the other for the tongue cleaner.”
Ms KD (Dental Professional + AMANO user)
“I don’t get why it says the device is flat… And the idea of holding your tongue is weird!”
Mr TR (an AMANO user)
“You have the weight of culture, history and practice on your side. Clearly the writer of the review has never visited South Asia where tongue cleansing is a daily routine for millions of people - all of whom use two hands to hold the implement. Contrary to what the reviewer asserts, the tongue does not need to be held while it is being cleansed. Also the shape of the implement is specifically designed to ensure pressure is applied evenly across the surface of the tongue while it is being cleaned. Perhaps you should offer to send someone there to model how it is supposed to be done.”

Good advice TR – we are drawing lots in the office to see who goes to see Dr Phil …