Although some people brush their tongue with a toothbrush, most dentists and hygienists agree that a tongue cleaner (tongue scraper) is a far better tool. Also, research shows that toothbrushes are less than half as effective in removing bio-burden from the tongue. Toothbrushes are designed for cleaning teeth. Tongue cleaners are designed to clean tongues, which are very different from teeth! A tongue cleaner such as Dr. Tung’s U-shaped cleaner is designed to gently “scrape" off the unwanted bacteria and soft plaque, even from the back of the tongue where most "bad breath" bacteria are found. Tongue scraping removes far more bacteria than tongue brushing.