Staying Healthy
Can tongue scraping improve bad breath?
Ask the doctors
Q. My friend is raving about a tool she bought to scrape her tongue, saying it makes her breath much fresher. Does tongue scraping work?
A. For someone with persistent bad breath, also known as halitosis, using a tool to scrape the tongue can indeed make a difference. Here's why: many of us build up a white or yellowish coating on our tongues consisting of food debris, bacteria, and dead skin cells. This happens when tiny bumps on the tongue called papillae — which "grab" food and help move it to the throat — trap this buildup, which develops a bad smell after bacteria settle in.
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About the Authors
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
Hope Ricciotti, MD, Editor at Large, Harvard Women's Health Watch
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