Biomaterial Database

Oral hygiene: a history of tongue scraping and brushing. 1978

A G Christen, and B Z Swanson

Tongue scraping and brushing have been practiced for hundreds of years but are still little appreciated or used by the public. Throughout the centuries, tongue scrapers have been constructed of thin, flexible strips of wood, various meals, ivory, mother-of-pearl, whalebone, celluloid, tortoiseshell, and plastic. Recent scientific evidence has validated the need to practice habitual and thorough tongue brushing as part of daily home oral hygiene procedures.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007194	India	A country in southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan. The capitol is New Delhi.	Republic of India
D007514	Islam	A monotheistic religion promulgated by the Prophet Mohammed with Allah as the deity.	Mohammedanism,Muslims,Islamic Ethics,Ethic, Islamic,Ethics, Islamic,Islamic Ethic,Muslim
D009910	Oral Hygiene	The practice of personal hygiene of the mouth. It includes the maintenance of oral cleanliness, tissue tone, and general preservation of oral health.	Dental Hygiene,Hygiene, Dental,Hygiene, Oral
D012068	Religion and Medicine	The interrelationship of medicine and religion.	Religiosity Coping,Spiritual Coping,Medicine and Religion,Coping, Religiosity,Coping, Spiritual,Religiosity Copings
D003742	Dental Devices, Home Care	Devices used in the home by persons to maintain dental and periodontal health. The devices include toothbrushes, dental flosses, water irrigators, gingival stimulators, etc.	Dental Floss,Floss, Dental,Home Care Dental Devices
D005060	Europe	The continent north of AFRICA, west of ASIA and east of the ATLANTIC OCEAN.	Northern Europe,Southern Europe,Western Europe
D014059	Tongue	A muscular organ in the mouth that is covered with pink tissue called mucosa, tiny bumps called papillae, and thousands of taste buds. The tongue is anchored to the mouth and is vital for chewing, swallowing, and for speech.	Tongues
D014064	Tongue, Hairy	A benign condition of the tongue characterized by hypertrophy of the filiform papillae that give the dorsum of the tongue a furry appearance. The color of the elongated papillae varies from yellowish white to brown or black, depending upon staining by substances such as tobacco, food, or drugs. (Dorland, 27th ed)	Hairy Tongue,Hairy Tongues,Tongues, Hairy
D014099	Toothbrushing	The act of cleaning teeth with a brush to remove plaque and prevent tooth decay. (From Webster, 3d ed)	Toothbrushings
D049668	History, 15th Century	Time period from 1401 through 1500 of the common era.	15th Century History,15th Cent. History (Medicine),15th Cent. History of Medicine,15th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 15th Century,History of Medicine, 15th Cent.,History, Fifteenth Century,Medical History, 15th Cent.,Medicine, 15th Cent.,15th Cent. Histories (Medicine),15th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 15th (Medicine),Cent. History, 15th (Medicine),Century Histories, 15th,Century Histories, Fifteenth,Century History, 15th,Century History, Fifteenth,Fifteenth Century Histories,Fifteenth Century History,Histories, 15th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 15th Century,Histories, Fifteenth Century,History, 15th Cent. (Medicine)