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Efficiency Of Tongue-Cleansing Using Toothbrush, Tongue Scraper Or Dental Floss In Reducing Aerobic And Anaerobic Bacteria, Suconta Chareonvit, Chintana Sirichompun, Tanawan Wimoltamwat, Pitipol Pholcharoen

Chulalongkorn University Dental Journal

Objective To compare the efficiency of tongue-cleansing methods using a toothbrush, a tongue scraper or dental floss in reducing aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Materials and methods Tongue coat collected from 12 subjects by cleaning the tongue with a toothbrush, a tongue scraper, or dental floss were cultured to investigate type and number of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. The ability to produce hydrogen sulfide gas of anaerobic bacteria was also investigated. The average numbers of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria colonies as well as the percentage of hydrogen sulfide producing bacteria obtained from each tongue cleansing method were compared using Kruskal-Wallis test …