Oil pulling? Yay or nay

[mamiof5]

Does anyone do oil pulling with coconut oil for oral health? If yes, have you noticed benefits? How often do you do it? For how long?

[Pink and Green Mom]

I did it for a few weeks (daily in the AM for at least 10 minutes, probably closer to 15) and then just couldn't deal anymore (it was sort of a big pain).  My teeth definitely felt cleaner (like they do after a dentist cleaning).  I have never had cavities or any oral health problems though so I can't speak to whether it is helpful or not.

[kewb]

 I oil pull.  My teeth are definitley a little whiter and my gum health is excellent.  However, I was not starting from a bad place.  I also fall on and off the wagon.  I will do it consistently for a few months and then something will happen that interrupts my schedule and I will stop for awhile.

 

When I am doing it, I do it daily for 20 minutes.  When I first started I could barely manage 5 minutes. 

[Guest]

What is it?

 

 

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[Guest]

I threw up immediately. The feeling is *so* gross, dude.

[Guest]

I've seen no scientific evidence that it works. How could it??

[Mergath]

I'm not one for woo pseudo-science stuff, but I tried oil pulling out of desperation when I had a cavity, and I swear to god, it really did heal it. You could actually see the hole going into my tooth, and after a couple months of daily oil pulling, it was completely gone. I combined it with high doses of vitamin D, too. It even healed the eroded enamel at my gumline. My dentist was shocked.

 

I used sesame oil, though. The coconut oil makes my face break out horribly.

 

ETA: Oh, and I did it once or twice a day for twenty minutes each time.

Edited May 27, 2016 by Mergath

[Mergath]

I've seen no scientific evidence that it works. How could it??

From what I've read, teeth are alive and porous, and the oil kills the bacteria and forces the yuck out of the tiny pores so teeth can heal. Or something like that. And it did work for me. I was as shocked as anyone about that, believe me. I totally expected it to do nothing, but I have a dentist phobia and I was desperate.

[Guest]

Mergath!! I'm shocked at you! Now you are making me rethink my stance.

[Mergath]

Mergath!! I'm shocked at you! Now you are making me rethink my stance.

Right? I'm shocked at me too. But I can't argue with what I saw.

[TammyinTN]

I do it 3 to 4 times a week...my teeth are super healthy and white.   I love it and it only takes 20 minutes....I do it while I vacuum and jam to music so I don't think about the time.

 

[GailV]

I do it with sunflower oil.  I'm fairly erratic with it -- I'll do it for several days, and then forget about it for several days. I do it while I'm puttering around doing early morning stuff like feeding animals and packing lunches -- usually about 10 minutes or so -- it's something that can be done absentmindedly, sort of like chewing gum.  I don't use coconut oil because I react badly to coconut.

 

It helps clean my teeth and stop plaque build up.  I think it gives a bit of a gum massage, too. 

 

.

 

 

[Eliz]

I've tried oil pulling, but I have a strong gag reflex.  A couple of minutes is all I can manage.  Any suggestions to help avoid gagging?  

[Slache]

I'm not one for woo pseudo-science stuff, but I tried oil pulling out of desperation when I had a cavity, and I swear to god, it really did heal it. You could actually see the hole going into my tooth, and after a couple months of daily oil pulling, it was completely gone. I combined it with high doses of vitamin D, too. It even healed the eroded enamel at my gumline. My dentist was shocked.

 

I used sesame oil, though. The coconut oil makes my face break out horribly.

 

ETA: Oh, and I did it once or twice a day for twenty minutes each time.

What exactly did you do?

[ThisIsTheDay]

I did it for awhile after reading here. It did whiten my teeth a bit.  It was a pain to do, time consuming.  A year or two ago,  switched to Earthpaste toothpaste, which has been fantastic. I will never go back to regular toothpaste. It grossed my family out though and they never got into it.

 

After reading this, I may go back to oil pulling for a while.  :D

[38carrots]

I really enjoy it--during and after. My sensitivity is gone, and I think my teeth look whiter. Sometimes I do it a lot--for 20-30 minutes a couple of times a day. I love that the kids know not to talk to me. So peaceful! lol

[lmrich]

I tried it this week, and it is not as gross as I thought it would be. Do not have any results of course.

[Mergath]

What exactly did you do?

 

I used a teaspoon of sesame oil (I did switch to organic coconut oil for a week or so but it made my face break out so I switched back) and swished it gently for twenty minutes a day. I also supplemented with 5000 iu vitamin D and a teaspoon of high quality fish oil each day.

 

Was it the swishing action? Does the oil have some kind of magical antibacterial properties? Was it the supplementing? (I don't think it was the supplementing alone, because that's my normal regimen and my teeth only improved after I started the oil pulling.) I have no idea and my anecdote does not constitute data, but that's what worked for me. 

[GailV]

No, not worth it. The effect comes from the swishing, not the oil. 

 

Here's the thing, though, about the oil -- there's nothing else I could stand to swish that long.  Mouthwash would irritate my mouth.  Water just turns into a giant gritty spit bath, and I would be weirded out by not getting the perfect temperature of water.  The texture and viscosity of the oil is okay for me in a way that other swishables are not, plus I think something happens as the mucous  combines with the oil and becomes sort of ... soapy?

 

 

 

I've tried oil pulling, but I have a strong gag reflex.  A couple of minutes is all I can manage.  Any suggestions to help avoid gagging?  

 

 

I have a really, really strong gag reflex, too (has anyone ever suggested brushing your tongue to you? yikes  :ack2: ). It took me a few tries to find a bland enough oil.  Olive oil was really bad for me.  Coconut oil was moderately better.  I started by just doing it for a minute or so, and not much oil, and built up from there. I guess my body gradually began to trust that I wasn't going to try swallowing the oil, and now, like I say, it's about like chewing gum.

[mamiof5]

Thanks for all the responses!! I'm thinking I'll give it a try. I never thought of the fact that it had to be done more than once 😉

[rainbird2]

Is OPing OK with amalgams??

[GailV]

 

Was it the swishing action? Does the oil have some kind of magical antibacterial properties? Was it the supplementing? (I don't think it was the supplementing alone, because that's my normal regimen and my teeth only improved after I started the oil pulling.) I have no idea and my anecdote does not constitute data, but that's what worked for me. 

 

 I wonder what happens with the pH of your mouth when you swish oil around for 10-20 minutes vs. ... well, pretty much anything else you do with your mouth. I think about that  because of Dr Ellie's comments about using xylitol to change pH.  

 

Also, I wonder if it's partially something about the mechanical swish swish swish going past your teeth and gums.  The cells are getting a different load on them than they would if you just went about your day.  Sort of like a little massage.  Could it be that it isn't just the chemistry of the oil or whatever nutrients are in your saliva, but also the mechanics of the loads on the oral surfaces?

 

I started thinking about this because Katy Bowman has been going on and on lately (on Facebook and Instagram) about how we use our teeth and jaws so much less than our ancestors did -- we've outsourced much of our labor to reduce  plants/animals into digestible food.  She notes that this puts different loads on our teeth and jaws since they aren't called on to do the work they used to do; body structures that are used less tend to be weaker.

 

Also,  does the oil has any anaerobic coating action or do something else odd to bacteria when it's there for such a long time -- not just passing through on a chew-and-swallow, but hanging around for quite a bit. 

 

I have lots of questions that come to mind while I'm simultaneously swishing and chopping vegetables to pack a salad for lunch. :coolgleamA:

[Mergath]

 I wonder what happens with the pH of your mouth when you swish oil around for 10-20 minutes vs. ... well, pretty much anything else you do with your mouth. I think about that  because of Dr Ellie's comments about using xylitol to change pH.  

 

Also, I wonder if it's partially something about the mechanical swish swish swish going past your teeth and gums.  The cells are getting a different load on them than they would if you just went about your day.  Sort of like a little massage.  Could it be that it isn't just the chemistry of the oil or whatever nutrients are in your saliva, but also the mechanics of the loads on the oral surfaces?

 

I started thinking about this because Katy Bowman has been going on and on lately (on Facebook and Instagram) about how we use our teeth and jaws so much less than our ancestors did -- we've outsourced much of our labor to reduce  plants/animals into digestible food.  She notes that this puts different loads on our teeth and jaws since they aren't called on to do the work they used to do; body structures that are used less tend to be weaker.

 

Also,  does the oil has any anaerobic coating action or do something else odd to bacteria when it's there for such a long time -- not just passing through on a chew-and-swallow, but hanging around for quite a bit. 

 

I have lots of questions that come to mind while I'm simultaneously swishing and chopping vegetables to pack a salad for lunch. :coolgleamA:

 

I would love to know the answers to all these questions. :) I wish they'd do more research on oil pulling.

[mamiof5]

Is OPing OK with amalgams??

No idea. Have read different versions/comments on it

[mamiof5]

I wonder what happens with the pH of your mouth when you swish oil around for 10-20 minutes vs. ... well, pretty much anything else you do with your mouth. I think about that because of Dr Ellie's comments about using xylitol to change pH.

 

Also, I wonder if it's partially something about the mechanical swish swish swish going past your teeth and gums. The cells are getting a different load on them than they would if you just went about your day. Sort of like a little massage. Could it be that it isn't just the chemistry of the oil or whatever nutrients are in your saliva, but also the mechanics of the loads on the oral surfaces?

 

I started thinking about this because Katy Bowman has been going on and on lately (on Facebook and Instagram) about how we use our teeth and jaws so much less than our ancestors did -- we've outsourced much of our labor to reduce plants/animals into digestible food. She notes that this puts different loads on our teeth and jaws since they aren't called on to do the work they used to do; body structures that are used less tend to be weaker.

 

Also, does the oil has any anaerobic coating action or do something else odd to bacteria when it's there for such a long time -- not just passing through on a chew-and-swallow, but hanging around for quite a bit.

 

I have lots of questions that come to mind while I'm simultaneously swishing and chopping vegetables to pack a salad for lunch. :coolgleamA:

I don't know? Last night I swished for 20mins with Listerine, this morning the same amount of time with coconut oil and warm water with salt afterwards (that's a quick rinse, not other 20 mins). My teeth feel smoother after the oil. I can't really say much about it though, I have only swished twice with oil... yesterday and today. I am trying to get rid of a small gum infection I had going on. My hygienist said flossing and rinsing with crest prohealth afterwards should do the trick? I tried that for about a week, swelling wasn't going down. The past few days I have rinsed with hydrogen peroxide a couple times, done the oil thing another couple, 20 mins with Listerine...so... swelling is going down, but hard for me to tell what's doing the trick?

My prior oral hygienist didn't care much for oil pulling, she said she did it once and didn't notice a difference. As in once I don't know if literally one time or it was something she tried for a while? I took her "once" literally, and was expecting some miracle after doing it ONCE. Well, good luck with that! After some of the comments here and also researching more online I'm thinking about doing it for a while, probably at least a few times a week...and at my next dental appointment I might be able to decide if it has made a difference or not?