Best Tongue Scraper 2023

Over the years I’ve tested a variety of different tongue scrapers — copper, steel, plastic; you name it.

I’ve also tested the tongue cleaning functionality on various toothbrushes.

In this post I give my advice on which tools are best, based on my own hands-on testing.

I’ve also created a buyer’s guide to explain a bit more about the different options.

All of the content has been medically approved by our in-house dentists.

Our Top 7 Choices For Best Tongue Scraper

Read on to learn a little more about each one and why it might be right for you.

I have included a few lines to explain each and what I think about them.

1. drTung’s Tongue Cleaner

Having tried the best-selling scrapers and brushes on the market, I found drTung’s (view on Amazon) to offer the best overall experience, when taking into consideration the price, design, and effectiveness of the clean.

One of the most widely regarded and highest rated tongue cleaners available today, drTung’s tongue cleaner is made from stainless steel and comes nicely packaged and even has a travel pouch included.

The shape of the cleaner is somewhere between a U and a V, with thick rubber grips on the end of the stainless steel to act like handles.

There is a nice degree of flex in the material and although steel by its very makeup is strong, it is not too rigid.

Thick enough that it does not feel too sharp (in my opinion) when pulled along, it is not so thick that there is no scraping sensation.  It could be considered a little harsh on the edge, certainly more so than the HealthandYoga option.

The handles can be used as grips as you pull the cleaner from the back of the tongue to the front and can be used either one handed or two handed.  Two hands gives a little more control.

I did not get a choice of coloured rubber grips, but depending on where you buy it you may do.

The simple design and metal construction means that you do not need to replace it regularly, and in fact, it can last for years.

To clean it a simple rinse under warm water or a wipe with a cloth will suffice.

The travel pouch is a really great inclusion to not only protect from damage and dirt when travelling with it but just making it easier to access.  The design is perhaps a little feminine and a pouch in one solid colour would have been preferred, but it is the only one of all the scrapers that includes a pouch at all.

Priced at around £7.99 at the time of writing, this is not the cheapest, but has potentially a lifetime of use ahead of it.  Even if you price it over a couple of years, it works out a lot cheaper than those designed to be replaced every few months.

2. DenTek Comfort Clean Tongue Cleaner

The DenTek Comfort Clean Tongue Cleaner (view on Amazon) is plastic in construction and is certainly softer on the tongue. This is useful if you do not like the harsher scraping provided by the metal options.

With a handle much like a traditional toothbrush, the head is essentially circular with 3 scraping edges that run along the surface of the tongue.

It comes neatly packaged with clear instructions on how to use it.

The scraper has a ‘mint’ flavour to the scraping edges.  I could smell this when held under the nose, but noticed no taste transfer to the tongue during the time I was using it.  Whether it had affect on my breath was impossible for me to tell.

Whilst the mint flavour was still noticed after my 3 weeks of testing, I can’t really say that this will persist over a longer period.

The head itself covers a large area of the tongue and perhaps would require less repetitive strokes as the 3 scraping edges mimic this in many respects.  It does feel a little flimsy and although it is not going to break unless excessive force is used, over time the head may become weaker than the metal alternatives.

3. Orabrush Tongue Cleaner Fresh Breath Brush With Scraper

Out of all the scrapers the Orabrush Tongue Cleaner Fresh Breath Brush With Scraper (view on Amazon) won the tickle test.  I found it the least comfortable to use initially.

You certainly do become used to it, but the number of bristles that scrape along the tongue surface created a sensation that felt a bit strange.

The combination of bristles and scraper work well to clean the tongue. With this scraper I had the feeling I had really had put some effort into cleaning our tongue, but the sensation appeared to last longer.

The scraper is much like a normal toothbrush, but the head is much wider and there is a different bristle arrangement to normal toothbrushes.

The handle was certainly strong and felt like it would stand the test of time.

The recommendation from DenTek, the manufacturer of Orabrush, is to replace this every 3-4 months, roughly the same time you would replace a manual toothbrush or an electric toothbrush head.

Whilst this is certainly feasible, the long term cost certainly makes this a more expensive option compared to the longer lasting options available today.  In fact it is more expensive than most manual toothbrushes or electric toothbrush heads.

4. HealthAndYoga Surgical Grade Stainless Steel Tongue Cleaner Scraper

The simplistic nature of the HealthAndYoga scraper (view on Amazon) really won me over.

This scraper is an all-metal construction, like drTung’s, and there are nicely rounded handles/grips at the two ends compared to the rubber with drTungs. Whilst the rubber tips are easier to hold onto, especially when wet, the end of the scraper tends not to be too exposed to moisture and as such poses little issue.

Made of stainless steel, the packaging clearly labeled this as ‘surgical steel’.  The difference?  Well truthfully none.

Surgical steel is often used as a marketing term that applies typically to a particular grade of stainless steel, but there is no official classification of what is surgical steel compared to normal stainless steel. However, these different ‘grades’ do relate to the makeup of the steel with ‘surgical steel’ often meeting grade 316 that helps minimise metallic contamination compared to the 440 and 420 grade that is often used in cutlery.

It is not clear what grade of metal is used in drTung’s scraper to be able to compare. I would be inclined to believe it is 316 but not marketed in this way.

Simple but effective packaging, the tongue cleaner does not come with any travel pouch and of the metal scrapers tested, the edges were slightly more rounded and felt to the touch softer, although the strength of the steel means that it still offered a firm scrape.

There was certainly flex in the metal but not to the extreme of the others.  It was the most likely to spring back to its original shape.

There is no denying that this would stand the test of time well and I have no reservations in suggesting that this will be as good in 12 months as it is the moment it comes out the packaging.  Perhaps this is why it is the most expensive of all the scrapers tested.

5. Wisdom Fresh Effect Tongue Cleaner

Expecting big things from Wisdom as a fan of their flosser (view on Amazon), the tongue cleaner (view on Amazon) did not exactly disappoint, but it has not wowed me. Despite this I still rank it as one of the best.

Smartly packaged, there are clear details on how to make best use of the cleaner and advice to replace it every 3 months for hygiene purposes.

Shaped like a manual brush, there is a long plastic handle that for the most part is wrapped in a soft touch rubber/silicone, and then the head is an oval shape with the centre missing.  Around the edge are a series of rubber nodules that do the scraping.

The nodules are amongst the thickest of all the scrapers, but the overall design and single row of scrapers means it covers a smaller surface area and well it seems an opportunity missed in the middle of the brush head.

This scraper offers a very soft cleaning experience, whilst you could feel it scraping certainly did not leave the same just scraped/cleaned feeling and taste that I hoped for.

Sporting a minty flavour, whilst it could be smelled, it could not be tasted.

The neck of the brush has a real flex to it.  It would take a lot to snap or break it but the flex will take out some of the pressure in the clean if putting a lot of pressure on.

6. Dental Aesthetics Tongue Scraper Cleaner

The most simplistic of the plastic scrapers, the one from Dental Aesthetics (view on Amazon) is also the one that offers the sharpest edge. Although they do also offer a ‘deluxe’ version that has more scrapers.

Coming in a basic sealed plastic sleeve the handle is basic and functional with rubber grips front and rear and little flex in the handle.

It looks a little cheap and basic, but it certainly does the job that it needs to.

I chose the blue colour rubber grips but you can choose from the options available.  Blue was the cheapest at the time of testing.

The single scraping edge seems a bit of a waste, another could have been included, but the angle, thickness and effectiveness certainly meant you felt this on the tongue as you pulled it along the surface and you could feel it working.

No mint flavours to the plastic here, it is a basic but functional option for getting the job done.

7. Ayurvedic Copper Tongue Scraper

The packaging for the Ayurvedic Copper Tongue Scraper (view on Amazon) is cheap and simple, with ours coming supplied with a card insert that labelled the product.  It looked cheesy, dated and unappealing.  Not a big issue, but certainly did not win me over.

With 6 in the pack this seems good value but when you come to use these you find out why they include 6.

This scraper is made of pure copper, like the pipes in your home might be.  Copper is quite soft and the thickness of these meant that these are really quite bendy and are easily pushed in and out of shape with too much pressure.

The scraping edge was one of the thinnest and least rounded which can be a blessing and a curse depending on how you feel about these.

With a more aggressive and acute scrape due to the thinner profile and lack of rounding to the edges, overall the scraper gave that harsher feel to the clean.

No real handles are on these either, not that this is a big issue, the turned ends give something to grip to and are not sharp, but do not offer the same comfortable contact points as some of the other options.

The copper can go green over time if not cleaned properly, but the use of copper rather than stainless steel is because it is understood that copper has antimicrobial properties.  This is in part why it is used for pipework but when used in the mouth for such short periods, and health benefits are hard to justify.

With a bit of delicate handling these could offer better value than the HealthandYoga and drTung’s if you preference is for copper over stainless steel.

Tongue Scrapers Buyer’s Guide

Why clean your tongue?

Most of us know we should clean our teeth twice a day for 2 minutes, whether we do or not is another matter.  But what about tongue cleaning?!

Did you know that some 50-90% of bad breath (halitosis) can be traced back to the tongue? (Sources 1, 2 & 3)

Coming into contact with liquids and food stuffs just like your teeth, the tongues textured surface holds onto food debris just as much as your teeth.

The front or the tip of the tongue is relatively self cleaning compared to the back part of it which is limited in its contact to naturally cleanse itself. As a result, bacteria builds up on the tongue.

So if you suffer from bad breath regularly or even occasionally physically cleaning your tongue with a scraper will go a long way to helping resolve the problem.  In fact, a study by Pedrazi showed a 75% reduction in the volatile sulphur compounds when using a tongue scraper.

Although removing the bacteria and food debris from the tongue will help reduce bad breath, there is no evidence that is reduces the risk of dental decay or gum disease.

What is a tongue scraper?

​A tongue scraper comes in a couple of forms, both of which have the same intention; to remove a thing mucus-based layer of debris from the tongue.

More often than not the scraper is made from a soft flexible plastic and has a design similar to a conventional manual toothbrush, but rather than a small head with lots of bristles it has a larger often rounded design with one or two plastic scrapers running horizontally to the rounded head frame.

The alternative design for a tongue scraper is more traditional and more rudimentary looking; a thin piece of machined metal, usually stainless steel or copper, that has been formed into a “U” or “V” shape.  It relies on the rounded but strong edge of the metal to scrape away the debris effectively.

Tongue brushes also exist.  They share a larger sized head like a scraper, but have less bristles than a normal toothbrush and are often made from a soft rubber.

Do tongue scrapers work?

Yes, they do.

Studies by Pedrazzi and Seemann have shown that a scraper can achieve a 75% reduction in volatile sulphur compounds that contribute to bad breath.

The American Dental Association suggests there is no real evidence to say that a tongue scraper works better than a brush.

But these studies suggested that by using a soft bristled toothbrush, there is some 30% variance in the effectiveness.  A toothbrush is said to remove only 45% of the sulphur compounds.

This said, one of the most popular tongue cleaners on the market today, the Orabrush (view on Amazon), is a brush design, but interestingly has a scraper included as part of that design.

Some electric toothbrushes have a tongue cleaning mode encouraging you to use your normal toothbrush head rather than a scraper. You can usual a manual toothbrush too.

Ultimately any cleaner, be that a scraper, tongue brush or a normal toothbrush head, are more useful to you and your breath than not cleaning your tongue at all.

Those who suffer with bad breath will likely see greater benefit from a scraper. Tongue cleaning takes just a few extra seconds each day and can make a big difference.

How to clean your tongue

To clean your tongue, you need to follow a very simple process that consists of just 7 steps:

1. Stick out your tongue as far as possible.
2. Using a mirror look for areas of the tongue with the most buildup of debris. Normally at the centre and back of the tongue. It is generally a white colour.
3. Place your tongue scraper or brush onto the tongue, being sure to target the area most-affected.
4. Press down gently with the scraper or brush and pull the cleaner from the back toward the tip of the tongue.
5. Rinse the scraper clean under a running tap to remove removed debris.
6. Repeat steps 3, 4 and 5 until no more debris can be removed.
7. If desired, rinse with an antibacterial mouthwash.

These are demonstrated in the following video.

We cover this topic in more detail in our how to brush your tongue article.

Where to buy tongue scrapers

At the time of writing I have found Amazon had the most diverse range of tongue scraper on offer. I purchased mine from Amazon and have included links to the various scrapers throughout the article.

You can purchase tongue scrapers from most good retailers who sell oral healthcare products be that a chemist like Boots, or other beauty outlets like Superdrug, although I found at the time of writing they did not have as many options available.

This selection and the feedback given is our opinion based on weeks of research and personal hands on testing.  You might find you prefer to use your normal toothbrush, you might find the metal tongue scrapers too harsh on the tongue and that is fine.  It is about finding what works for you.

Tongue scraping might well be an entirely new process for you and it can take a bit of time to get used to, so don’t give up after the first 1 or 2 attempts.

If nothing else I hope this article has highlighted the importance of cleaning your tongue and helped you on your journey to better oral health care.

Your comments & opinions

Have you used any of the tongue scrapers I have tried?

Got any comments about them, or maybe you have a question?

Perhaps you have found a better option.

Leave a comment below as I would love to hear from you.