Jun Sugimoto, Kazuya Takahashi, Y. Komasa
Oct 1, 2015
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0
Influential Citations
3
Citations
Journal
Journal of Osaka Dental University
Abstract
Volatile sulfides cause physiological bad breath, and volatile sulfides produced by bacterial putrefaction of the tongue coating account for 60% of those volatile sulfides. These sulfides are known as the main cause of physiological bad breath. The prevention of aspiration pneumonia by oral cavity cleaning, including removal of the tongue coating, has been reported, and coating removal is essential for not only young people conscious of bad breath, but also for weak, elderly people who are unable to practice proper oral hygiene. Generally, the tongue coating is removed by mechanical cleaning using tooth and tongue brushes. Although these methods are effective, it has been noted that they may cause trauma to the tongue mucosa and induce the vomiting reflex. 6 For these reasons we examined chemical tongue coating-removal methods. Many studies have reported that protease is effective at removing the tongue coating, which is comprised of oral mucosa-derived desquamated epithelial cells and bacteria. Yoshimatsu et al. reported that rough tablets containing a kiwi fruit-derived cysteine protease, actinidine, were effective at removing the tongue coating and preventing bad breath. This tablet is comprised of three types of sugar with different solubilities. Because the surface becomes rough as the tablet is dissolved in the oral cavity, mechanical cleaning of the tongue coating is expected. However, no study has reported on how the surface properties of the tablet, and the presence or absence of an enzyme in the tablet, affect tongue cleansing. In the elderly receiving support and nursing care, it has been reported that atrophy and reduction of movement of the lingual muscles occur in addition to a vertical drop in the laryngeal and hyoid bone posiEffect of a protease-containing tablet with rough surface on the number of bacteria on the tongue