The Competition

Established in 1992 in London - the AMANO Tongue Cleanser is designed to be a quick, pleasant and visibly effective healthcare experience.

So what's wrong with using a toothbrush?

You should not experience a gag effect, when you use an AMANO Tongue Cleanser.

However you will, most probably, with a toothbrush, particularly when you reach to the back of your tongue.

The gag effect occurs when the tongue’s reflex action tries to pull the toothbrush back into the mouth. The steel weight and shape of the AMANO Tongue Cleanser is designed to stop this reflex action happening.

This means you can use the AMANO Tongue Cleanser at the back of your tongue, where debris tends to accumulate – that would be a no-go area for toothbrushes.

To validate this greater efficiency point - a 2004 study in the Journal of Periodontology showed that a toothbrush reduced the production of volatile sulfur compounds (the 'bad stuff' that leads onto bad breath) by 45 percent, - whilst a tongue 'scraper' reduced production by a significant 75 percent.

The research conclusion was clear;

"The tongue scraper performed better in reducing the production of volatile sulfur compounds".

As a final point; using a toothbrush will take you an awful amount of time – which means far more scope for that dreaded gag effect to occur.

In summary: Using a toothbrush; is far less effective, takes far longer and is usually unpleasant. Which all means it is far less likely to become part of your daily regime - compared to using a well designed tongue cleanser, such as the AMANO.

PS: If you do wish to continue using a toothbrush, to clean your tongue, don't use one with a Fluoride toothpaste on it. Fluoride kills 'good' bacteria, at the back of the tongue, that produces the 'miracle molecule' Nitric Oxide.

What about mouthwashes?

Lets remember that most mouthwashes are a cocktail of complex chemicals.

The long-term effects of putting this cocktail of chemicals into your mouth are only now being seen in medical studies.

Recent findings include:

"Discoveries reveal that oral bacteria provide the human body with continuous sources of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is one of the most important molecules produced in the human body. It controls and regulates blood pressure and is a major factor in preventing cardiovascular disease. Loss of nitric oxide is the earliest event in the onset and progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading killer of men and women worldwide.

Poor oral hygiene, the use of antiseptic mouthwash or antibiotics can kill these commensal bacteria and disrupt nitric oxide production putting patients at risk for CVD"

Source: Professor Nathan Bryan, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas speaking at The American Naturopathic Medical Association Annual Convention - and reported in News Medical Life Sciences August 2017

This study adds to the evidence identified by recent large studies that support (the) tendency for increased risk of head and neck cancer with excessive, high frequency or prolonged use of mouthwash. In our opinion, high frequency or prolonged use of mouthwash is not a routine component of good oral hygiene

Source: Evidence-Based Dentistry (March 2016)

Oral cancer risk could increase - for some alcohol based mouthwashes

Sources: Dental Journal of Australia | Journal of Oral Oncology

The risk of stroke increases with some mouthwashes - because the friendly microbes in your mouth that produce nitrates (vital in ensuring your blood vessels dilate) are dramatically reduced - so increasing blood pressure

Source: Journal of Free Radical Biology and Medicine

Regular use of a mouthwash could mean that bad breath might actually go up – because vital bacteria used to ‘manage’ odour ends up being killed by the chemical wash

Source: Scientific America Journal

What about plastic tongue scrapers?

If they are light in weight you will again experience that gag effect – particularly when you reach to the back of your tongue. The AMANO’s weight is a key factor in negating the tongue’s reflex action that leads to the gag effect.

Plastic tongue cleaners also need to be regularly replaced - every 3 to 6 months. That makes them more costly over time, than an 'investment' in an AMANO.

The AMANO is built to last - incredibly, we have customers in the UK and USA using the same one 20 years on (see the Endorsements section).

And finally

The Centre for Dentistry, University of Groningen, The Netherlands, conducted a study of various tongue scraper designs in 2015 with 50 participants and concluded as follows;

"The perception of effectiveness varied among the various tongue-cleaning device designs. No single feature stood out as being specifically related to (a) perception of effectiveness. Sharpness and comfort were negatively correlated. Comfort and effectiveness were positively correlated".