ILiveInFlipFlops Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 The coconut oil thread got me thinking about this again, and I started a few days ago. I can't seem to get to 20 minutes, because I start to want to gag after about 10. Does everyone really do the full 20 minutes? Also, do you do it before or after you brush your teeth? I know most sites said before, but it seems like it would be more beneficial after you brush most of the crud off your teeth, no? Also, I've found that it makes my mouth intensely dry, and I spend the rest of the day horribly thirsty. Is that weird? Any other helpful hints? My teeth are awful, so if this could be helpful I want to be successful. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I don't know if I"do"it correctly, but at night after I brush/floss, I swish with coconut oil for about5 minutes (while I get my jammies on and pee etc.....) then I spit and got to bed-- no rinsing. I just leave it there all night long. I mostly do this to stop/prevent mouth sores caused by yeast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJPPKGFGSC Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I try for 15 minutes, usually in the afternoon. If I start to feel a bit like gagging, I tilt my head forward and that seems to help. I usually rinse with plain water right after. But, I do not brush my teeth because my next step in the routine is some sort of health promoting drink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I am actually doing it as I type! :) Yes, I do the full 20 minutes. I've been at it for only a few months now, but I've only ever missed one day. I often do it while looking at these forums or watching YouTube videos. Sometimes I clean or even shower, but I find playing on the internet to be easiest. Start with 10 minutes and build your time up. It isn't worth gagging over. :) It will get easier. I brush my teeth before and usually floss. In lieu of tooth paste I use a mixture of bentonite clay and baking soda, (lots of recipes for "tooth powder" out there). After I oil pull, I spit it in the trash can (to make sure my pipes never clog from it). Then I just run my tooth brush over once more (with nothing on it) and swish with water. I've noticed a substantial difference in my teeth and gums :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I've noticed a substantial difference in my teeth and gums :) In what way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanitaL Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I tried this immediately after reading that thread yesterday. I was in the kitchen getting my spoonful of coconut oil when my son came in the room. He started talking to me as I popped the spoon right in my mouth. His eyes bugged out, "What are you doing? You're just eating a spoonful of oil?" His expression and tone made me want to laugh, but I had a mouthful of oil starting to melt down my throat. So I spit a little bit out in the trash can. He seemed appalled, disgusted, and fascinated all at once. He kept getting in my face "What are you doing Mom?" The spoonful of oil felt like it was growing as it was melting, I started to gag (and kind of laugh at ridiculousness of the situation). He started to make little gagging noises while he persisted in asking me why I just ate a spoon of oil - and he was right up in my face. I obviously couldn't answer him - I think I spit about half of it out before I felt like I was at a manageable amount that I could swish it through my teeth. I was able to swish for about 2 minutes before I was really gagging and had to abandon the experiment. Evidently a lot of angst can come over a teenage boy when he comes across his mother doing something unexpected. The moral of my story is to start with a teeny little bit of oil and either warn family members of what you're doing ahead of time or do it behind closed doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Oh. If you are trying to improve your teeth - I suggest taking cod liver oil (I take Carlson's lemon) and if you can drink raw milk, do it. Cut all refined sugar out :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 In what way? My teeth are a lot whiter. My gums are looking so much healthier. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Get a fermented cod liver oil/butter oil pill to take as well. I can't get to the 20min with the oil pulling yet either, but I keep stretching it further. I started brushing with a mixture of coconut oil, baking soda, and powder calcium/magnesium and then I use what's in my mouth from it to pull for as long as I can. I was complimented on the health of my gums on my last dental appointment on Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-bex Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I've tried it a couple of times and didn't enjoy it at all. I've been meaning to look up whether it would be ok to add some peppermint extract to make it more palatable. Anyone do that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I wouldn't be able to do coconut oil. I use sesame oil when I do it, for reasons of taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quelle.que.soit Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 If you are gagging, I would use a smaller amount of oil. You're going to salivate some while pulling. I would rinse mouth and brush teeth afterwards. The suggestion to sleep with oil in your mouth isn't a bad one. It's anti-bacterial, and bacterial is what causes most tooth and gum issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I've never heard of this before but just read about it after following a link on Pinterest: http://diyorganix.com/how-to-naturally-reverse-cavities-and-heal-tooth-decay/ Do you think it really helps with tooth decay? and why is it called oil pulling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learning fun Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I do it in the shower, since I usually shower for 20 min. it works out nicely. I brush after I oil pull. I have found that my teeth are whiter and much cleaner since I started oil pulling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I've never heard of this before but just read about it after following a link on Pinterest: http://diyorganix.com/how-to-naturally-reverse-cavities-and-heal-tooth-decay/ Do you think it really helps with tooth decay? and why is it called oil pulling? I do think oil pulling contributes to improved oral health. Definitely. I also believe cavities can be reversed, but not with oil pulling alone. There is a book Cure Tooth Decay (as mentioned on the website you linked). There are a lot of testimonies online about following it's advice and having great success. It basically focuses on diet (google Weston Price, Sally Fallon, etc. to see recommendation of diet). The author also has youtube videos. My understanding, it is called "oil pulling" because you literally are pulling bacteria out with the oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I'll go read through the site some more. I do have Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston Price but haven't looked through it for a long time. Aha - "pulling" out the bacteria - makes sense. Thank you for clearing that up for me. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 This is the website I use for learning about and how to do oil pulling. I love it because he says essentially "Don't buy a book or any other such thing to teach you how to do oil pulling. It simple!" All the necessary info. is available for free. He says to swish first thing in the morning before doing anything else or drinking/eating anything. Swish gently, not vigorously, for 20 minutes. The 20 minutes can vary, so you can play with it a little bit to see. You're looking for what you spit out to be a white-ish thick-ish substance. At the end, he says to swish with warm salt water as its antimicrobial and helps with any inflammation left behind because of the toxins. Also, brush after. About the whiter teeth benefit: Does this work with teeth that are naturally yellow? I've never looked into teeth whitening products because my teeth haven't been stained by anything; nothing in my diet has made them yellowish. They're just naturally off white/yellow. I don't know if oil pulling would help in this situation (and in fact I did oil pulling for several weeks previously and didn't notice a difference). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I do it first thing in the morning. I usually have a drink of water first. At night I swish with a pre-brushing rinse, then floss and brush, and swish again with fluoride. So in a way I *have* brushed before oil pulling, but it was several hours before. At first I just tried to make it about 3-5 minutes. I built up time gradually. Sometimes I absently mindedly go about 20 minutes because I'm not much paying attention. I do it while making brown bag lunches for the day, feeding the cats, and generally getting going on the day. And, yes, it's a great time to do things on the computer. I tried coconut oil at first, but after several days wasn't feeling the coconut love. I tried olive oil a couple of times, which really made me want to gag. Then I got a bottle of sunflower oil, which has been what I've used for several months -- I don't notice much taste with it at all. I don't know that my teeth have become whiter, but my gums feel healthier. Also, I have much less plaque, particularly behind my bottom front teeth where the salivary glands are (this is a common spot for plaque build up). I read somewhere that it takes plaque about 16 hours to form, so I figure I'm doing a number on it at night and again a few hours later. Sometimes in the morning I feel something solid swishing around, which seems sort of crazy with all the swishing and flossing I do at night. I assume it's something that had maybe loosened up at night, then finally broke free in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I've tried it a couple of times and didn't enjoy it at all. I've been meaning to look up whether it would be ok to add some peppermint extract to make it more palatable. Anyone do that? The pre-brushing rinse I use, CloSYS, comes with peppermint that you can drop in the bottle if you'd like to customize the flavor. And people sometimes put CoQ10 in the oil they pull in the belief that it delivers the CoQ10 directly to the gums (it's important in gum health), so there are folks out there putting other things in their oil. My only concern would be what's in the extract. Is there anything that shouldn't be coating your teeth day after day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-bex Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 My only concern would be what's in the extract. Is there anything that shouldn't be coating your teeth day after day? Thanks! Looks like it's just organic sunflower oil and organic peppermint oil. I think I'll try it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrn Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 I just ran across this same subject on facebook and was intrigued. I picked up some coconut oil and started yesterday. I'm curious to see what my dentist will say about it at my appointment next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Yes, I do the full 20. I do it in the morning before I brush my teeth. I alternate between sesame oil and coconut oil ever few weeks. In the beginning I could not do the full 20. I just kept at it for as long as I could until I was able to the full 20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stratford Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 I've had better luck using sesame oil, coconut oil was too thick, and I usually swish while I'm in the shower. It certainly whitens my teeth, and my gums are really healthy - enough so that my dentist makes comments. (Good comments!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Even if you cannot get to the full 20 min, 10 min is probably better than nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 I was going to post a thread on this today, so imagine my surprise when I came on here and found one on the front page! Weird. I've been doing it for about 2 weeks now, and I really like it. I do it twice a day with either sweet almond oil (food grade) or grape seed oil, as I'm allergic to coconut. The sweet almond and grape seed oils are very light and easy to swish. I prefer the almond oil, as it has pretty much no taste. My teeth are noticeably whiter, and really, really clean. I didn't have time to do it the other morning and all day I felt like my teeth were icky, even though I had brushed them. When I first started, I couldn't get past 10 minutes, but that's because my jaw and face hurt! Now I make it to 20 minutes with no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I'd gotten out of the habit since I started this thread, but I've been thinking that I need to start again. I did manage to work up to the 20 minutes. I didn't do it long enough to notice any huge changes, but even in the week or two that I did it regularly, I noticed that my teeth seemed whiter (maybe wishful thinking?), and I could feel some of the tartar that had accumulated on the backs of my bottom front teeth start to break off and disappear. I need to start pulling again. I'm glad this thread got bumped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 The coconut oil thread got me thinking about this again, and I started a few days ago. I can't seem to get to 20 minutes, because I start to want to gag after about 10. Does everyone really do the full 20 minutes? Also, do you do it before or after you brush your teeth? I know most sites said before, but it seems like it would be more beneficial after you brush most of the crud off your teeth, no? Also, I've found that it makes my mouth intensely dry, and I spend the rest of the day horribly thirsty. Is that weird? Any other helpful hints? My teeth are awful, so if this could be helpful I want to be successful. Thanks! I've been doing the full 20 minutes about 5x per week. The first day was really hard, but I don't mind it now. I do it after my morning coffee, because I don't do anything before coffee. I brush my teeth afterward. I think my teeth might be a little whiter, but the main thing I've noticed is that they are less sensitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I wanted to post an update. I went to the dentist on Monday morning. At my last two appointments, eight and four months ago, I had bacterial readings in my mouth of 8000+ and 7000+ (I don't know how it works, just know the goal is to be under 1500). So mine were really, really high. In between those two appointments, I used Squiqle toothpaste, which has a goodly amount of xylitol in it. I still had that high 7000 reading after using the Squigle for four months. Anyway, at my appointment on Monday, my reading was an amazing 1089! The three things that might have contributed to this are the following: 1) Oil pulling 2-4 times a week for the last 3-4 weeks 2) Chewing several pieces of xylitol gum a day, throughout the day 3) Drinking lemon water twice a day for the last couple of weeks It's my personal opinion that the oil pulling is what brought the numbers down so drastically, but obviously it could be a mix of the three (with less emphasis on the third one should less emphasis be needed anywhere). Just wanted to share thoughts in relation to this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Wow...great results! I keep forgetting to try this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Milovany, have you noticed a difference in how your teeth look? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Milovany, have you noticed a difference in how your teeth look? Nope, none. I've always had slightly yellow teeth and that hasn't changed, unfortunately. Mine is just hereditary or whatever -- no staining (I don't drink/eat stain-causing foods). So I don't think oil pulling would change that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Anne Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I've tried it a couple of times and didn't enjoy it at all. I've been meaning to look up whether it would be ok to add some peppermint extract to make it more palatable. Anyone do that? That or anything else? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 My daughter does it for the full 20 minutes daily, and it has cleared her acne as well as her prescription meds used to. It is really amazing. I don't understand how it works though. How does oil pull bacteria out of the skin? She also applies coconut oil lightly to the surface of her skin as well, like a moisturizer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 This thread and my daughter's recent start with oil pulling (great results by the way) are motivating me. I first heard about this a few years ago and have wanted to try it. My problem is that I have a terrible, terrible gagging problem. I think that I'll try it and start slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 The info I have read suggests that oil pulling works through its mechanical action ie swishing the oil around the mouth, dislodging particles and bacteria. There's no evidence for any other effect or mechanism. This makes sense to me. You can find plenty of websites that discuss the link between oral bacteria and heart disease, for example. Also, I imagine having a high bacteria level in your mouth would simply put your body in a more inflammatory state, which certainly isn't going to help your body heal easily from other problems. For some people, getting rid of the oral bacteria could be enough of a relief to allow healing for other problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 This makes sense to me. You can find plenty of websites that discuss the link between oral bacteria and heart disease, for example. Also, I imagine having a high bacteria level in your mouth would simply put your body in a more inflammatory state, which certainly isn't going to help your body heal easily from other problems. For some people, getting rid of the oral bacteria could be enough of a relief to allow healing for other problems. Ah, maybe the lemon water had a bigger effect than I was originally thinking. One of the purposes with that is to put the body in a more alkaline state since an acidic state is where disease takes up residence. So maybe it is related after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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