Do You Know You Can Use Oil To Improve Your Oral Health?

Oil pulling can benefit your health, but most people haven’t heard about it. Oil pulling is the method of swilling oil around your mouth for about 20 minutes to help improve oral health.

What is Oil Pulling?

The theory is that the oil will help to remove toxins and impurities from your mouth as you swill it around. Just as people use oil to cleanse their skin, people can also use oil to help cut through toxins and plaque in the mouth without causing any harm to your gums or teeth. The oil will suck the dirt away from your mouth, leaving a clean and antiseptic month. This will help to prevent mouth disease and other oral problems. The most popular oils are coconut, sesame and sunflower.

Oil pulling is an ancient type of Ayurvedic medicine that dates back to around three thousand years ago, and there is science behind the tradition. The cells in your body are covered with a fatty membrane, and this membrane quickly sticks to the oil.

While the tradition may seem weird, it has been used by people for thousands of year – but how effective is oil pulling?

How and Does oil pulling work?

Various studies have looked at the effectiveness of oil pulling;

One study from the Department of Public Health Dentistry, the People’s College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre in India aimed to evaluate the effect of sesame oil pulling on plaque-induced gingivitis. The researchers then compared the results with mouthwash. The results of the study found that oil pulling showed a reduction in plaque and modified gingival scores, so oil pulling is an effective way to reduce plague and the risk of gingivitis.

Another study from the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Meenakshi Ammal Dental College in India found that coconut oil contributed to the reduction of S. mutans in the plaque, which is a positive result as S. mutans are bad for your oral health.

A second study from the Department of Pediatric Dentistry and the Meenakshi Ammal Dental College in India found that oil pulling is just as effective as chlorhexidine mouthwash on halitosis, so oil pulling can reduce bad breath.

Benefits Of Oil Pulling

There are lots of different benefits to oil pulling. Here are five of the main benefits.

Boosts Oral Hygiene

The most obvious benefit of oil pulling is that it boosts your oral hygiene by removing plague and toxins and reducing the risk of gingivitis. However, it also does a lot more!

Teeth Whitening

A surprising benefit of oil pulling is that it helps to whiten your teeth. This is because it is a natural antibiotic with antiviral properties.

Removes Toxins

Oil pulling with remove toxins from your body via your mouth, as it will suck the toxins from your teeth, gums and saliva. This can help to reduce inflammation in the mouth.

Boosts Energy

If your immune system is having to work overtime to remove toxins from your month (due to a lack of mouthwash or oil pulling), your energy levels will soon feel low. Thankfully oil pulling helps to reduce the amount of work that your body has to do.

Reduces The Risk Of Headaches

If your mouth is filled with toxins your body will feel some toxic stress, and this increases the chance of headaches or migrates.

Steps to do Oil pulling?

Step 1: Put one tablespoon of oil in your mouth before breakfast in the morning.

Step 2: Move the oil slowly around your mouth and through your teeth for 15 to 20 minutes. During this time the oil will mix with the saliva and remove the toxins. As you swill the oil the enzymes will become active, and then they will draw toxins out of your mouth.

Step 3: Spit the oil out when it is white and thin. If the oil is not white and thin keep going for a few more minutes. The oil looks different now as it is filled with toxins. Wash your mouth with clean water when you are done.

An Infographic that summarise the simple concept of oil pulling.

Frequently asked Question About Oil Pulling

What is the best time to do oil pulling?

It is best to do oil pulling in the morning before breakfast, as you have an empty stomach so the oil is less likely to make you feel queasy.

Is oil pulling safe?

Oil pulling is very safe. Some critics challenge the effectiveness of oil pulling, but they agree that harmless.

Can I swallow the oil?

You should not swallow the oil as it is full of toxins and bacteria, and the whole point is to get rid of the toxins. Instead, you should spit the oil out.

What oil should be used for oil pulling?

The most popular oils for oil pulling are sesame oil, olive oil and coconut oil. While all of these can be used for oil pulling as cells will stick to them, research has found that only coconut oil can prevent Streptococcus mutans, which is one of the main causes of tooth decay.

Who can do oil pulling?

Anyone can try oil pulling, but it should be avoided if you have an open wound or cut in your mouth as it may irritate the wound. Children can also try oil pulling, but they should use less oil and it is important to make sure that they don’t swallow the oil.

Featured photo credit: Pexels via pexels.com

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