E ffect of professional tongue cleaning on oral conditions of healthy adults.

为了解洁舌习惯的流行情况，在岩手县进行问卷调查，并在东京、北京和上海进行网络调查进行国际比较。结果表明，不同地区、地区和国家之间存在差异（中国人更常吸烟）。由于医学/牙科专业人员的信息或建议可能有助于普通人养成清洁舌头的习惯，因此需要研究证据来支持他们的建议。通过测量口腔空气中的挥发性硫化合物，可以预测牙周病细菌（特别是牙龈卟啉单胞菌）在牙周健康成人牙菌斑中的定植。为了调查我们之前提出的专业清洁舌头的持续效果，我们进行了一项交叉研究。结果表明，即使在清洁3天后，专业清洁在去除舌苔方面也优于自清洁。我们用实时荧光定量PCR法比较了牙周健康成人牙菌斑和舌苔中核梭杆菌的数量。结果表明，牙菌斑中有核仁梭菌的数量与舌苔呈正相关，说明牙菌斑与舌苔之间存在核仁梭菌的循环。采用基于16S rRNA的实时PCR技术检测牙菌斑和舌苔去除前后的细菌水平。结果显示，与除舌前（第1天）相比，清洁和不清洁的牙菌斑样本中细菌的平均数量在第3天显著减少。10天后，与第一天相比，如果受试者进行舌头清洁，差异更大，尽管没有显著性。总之，清洁舌头可能会抑制牙菌斑的形成，尽管目前的研究结果显示只有轻微的变化。

To clarify prevalence of tongue cleaning habit, questionnaire survey was performed in Iwate prefecture, and web surveys were conducted in Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai for international comparison. As the results, differences in prevalence were existed by region in the prefecture as well as by country (Chinese had the habit more frequently). Since information or recommendation by medical/dental professionals may contribute to make tongue cleaning habit of common people, research evidence supporting their recommendation are required.It was possible to predict colonization of periodontopathic bacteri (especially, Porphyromonas gingivalis) in dental plaque of periodontally healthy adults by means of measurement of volatile sulfur compounds in their mouth air.To investigate the continuous effects of professional tongue cleaning we proposed previously, we conducted a crossover study. As the results, the advantages of professional cleaning on removal of tongue coating against the self-cleaning was observed even after 3 days from the cleanings.We compared the amount of Fusobacterium nucleatum in dental plaque with those of tongue coating from periodontally healthy adults by a real-time PCR. As the results, positive correlation was observed in the amount of F. nucleatum of dental plaque and tongue coating which suggested that there was a circulation of F. nucleatum between dental plaque and tongue coating.We examined bacteria levels in dental plaque and tongue coating before and after their removal by 16S rRNA based real-time PCR. As the results, the average numbers of bacteria in dental plaque samples with and without tongue cleaning were significantly lesser on day 3 as compared to those before removal (day 1). After 10 days, the difference as compared to day 1 was greater in case subjects performed tongue cleaning, though there was no significance. In conclusion, tongue cleaning may inhibit plaque formation, though the present findings showed only slight changes.