Patent ID: 6861049

Claim:
A method for cleaning the tongue of a patient to reduce contamination thereof, comprising: (a) contacting an area of the tongue surface in need thereof with the aqueous slurry so as to contact contamination thereon, the aqueous slurry comprising finely-divided charcoal, water and a biocide, wherein the water and an alcohol biocide provide, and are components of, a liquid portion of the aqueous slurry, and the aqueous slurry is formed by mixing the finely-divided charcoal with the liquid portion; (b) removing at least a portion of the contacted contamination and used aqueous slurry from the area of the tongue surface; (c) optionally, repeating (a) and (b) until a desired degree of cleaning is accomplished; and (d) optionally, removing residual amounts of the aqueous slurry, finely-divided charcoal, liquid portion, and/or contacted contamination from the tongue, as well as from the oral cavity of the patient, wherein the aqueous slurry is formed prior to contacting the area of the tongue surface with the aqueous slurry, or during (a).