The oil is "pulled" between the teeth and all around the mouth for up to 20 minutes. At the end of the pulling, when the oil is milky and thin, spit it out in the trash.
Never swallow the oil after pulling — it's full of bacteria. Does Oil Pulling Work? There have been numerous studies on oil pulling's effect on oral health and hygiene, and discussion about which type of oil is best. Although these and other small-scale studies draw positive conclusions about oil pulling, the American Dental Association ADA does not consider oil pulling to be a reliable dental hygiene practice or a replacement for brushing and flossing. Oil Pulling Side Effects There aren't any known physical side effects from oil pulling.
However, you might notice a sore jaw or headache at first from the rigorous motion of oil pulling. If you swallow the oil, it could cause an upset stomach or diarrhea. Oil pulling should never be used in place of brushing and flossing. Always adhere to your dentist's recommended dental regimen, and only add in alternative therapies like oil pulling after discussion with your dentist.
How to Keep Your Mouth Healthy Unfortunately, there's no magic remedy to make your teeth perfectly white and healthy. What's been proven to work over time is developing and maintaining a proper oral care routine. While brushing and flossing provide the foundation for such a routine, the steps to maintaining it are rather simple:. You only get one set of permanent teeth, so taking care of them is essential. When you are done, you spit out the oil. In fact, a study on oil pulling indicated that there were no adverse reactions to any hard or soft tissues of the oral cavity.
Recently, coconut oil has become popular for oil pulling because it:. A few studies have looked at which oil is best for oil pulling.
Some have indicated that coconut oil is a good choice:. Consider spitting out the oil into a tissue and then throwing it in the trash to avoid oil building up and clogging your drain pipe. Although typically not dangerous to your health, you might experience a few minor side effects from oil pulling.
For instance, at first, putting oil in your mouth might make you feel a little nauseous. These side effects tend to diminish as you become used to oil pulling. After reaching 15 minutes I spat it out, and was happy to note that once I had swilled with warm salt water, and brushed and flossed as normal, there was no residue left. My initial thoughts: My headache worsened while I was doing it, but then afterwards it was gone, as was my hangover. It also made me very hungry!
The second day went pretty much the same as the first: I got another headache while doing it. Some research indicated these could be "detox headaches," as I was new to the process. Day three was where I hit a little bit of a road block; I only managed to make it to 10 minutes. Day four, I just barely pushed through, hating every second of it. Then came day five: After only going for five minutes I quite literally puked it up. To see the benefits of oil pulling, you really have to do this most days of the week for about two weeks, but I will say that my teeth were considerably whiter after only four days and it cured that one hangover.
Even though I had failed, I still wanted to know if this process was legit, so I reached out to Dr. Yeowart says that to date, there is relatively little formal trial data about oil pulling, but that coconut oil does make a great, organic substitute for mouthwash as it contains Vitamin E, which acts as an antioxidant, and also has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties thanks to the lauric acid and monolaurin.
On a personal note, her mom swears by it for her gums. Well, that principle is in effect when you do oil pulling. Swishing with oil can help to dissolve and flush out residual non-polar nastiness and clean your mouth to a whole new level. These are the basic concepts behind oil pulling. In scientific literature, a toxin is a specific kind of organic poison. If oil pulling is used alone, without regular brushing and flossing, then no, it is not an effective way to keep your mouth healthy.
However, when used in conjunction with proper daily brushing and flossing habits, it may improve bad breath, help to decrease staining, and benefit in other ways. There is no official verdict regarding the benefits of oil pulling as there is unfortunately very little research on the topic. But of course, if you have any particular input or insight into oil pulling, we welcome your comments on social media!
Now, despite the lack of scientific investigation into oil pulling, many dental professionals recommend it to patients who are looking for a more natural substitute to mouth wash. And oil, with its non-polar bacteria-magnet potential, could make that swishing effect even more effective. For this reason, oil pulling could be considered a healthy oral practice.
But it must be done in conjunction with daily brushing and flossing as it does nothing to fight against already existing tooth decay and cannot remove plaque and tartar the way a toothbrush and floss can.
Oil pulling can be done as many times as you are comfortable with.
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