Have you heard of oil pulling? It’s one of those things that’s all the rage in natural-living circles right now.
If you read up on oil pulling, you’ll hear that this traditional Ayurvedic oral care technique naturally detoxifies, whitens teeth without chemicals, strips teeth of plaque, kills harmful bacteria that have taken up residence in your mouth, sweetens the breath and on and on and on.
The idea is, you put a tablespoon of raw-pressed oil (coconut or sesame are frequently mentioned) in your mouth and swish it around your mouth and suck the oil in and out of your teeth for twenty minutes, then spit out the now bacteria-infused oil and rinse your mouth out.
My reaction: “Swishing oil in your mouth for twenty minutes? Sounds weird. I have to try it.”
I’m not squeamish but my brief foray into oil pulling was one of the more disgusting things I’ve ever encountered. And guys, twenty minutes? Are you kidding me? I didn’t even make it two minutes. I am a total oil pulling failure.
Here’s what happened.
As many internet folks suggested, I tried to swish coconut oil. My house is 61 degrees, fifteen degrees colder than the melting point of coconut oil. So I got a spoon and carved a big blob of fully solid coconut oil from my giant Costco tub.
Fact: you cannot swish a solid.
I chewed the coconut oil until it melted in my mouth. It was at this point that the urge to be doing anything else but chewing coconut oil overtook me. The feeling of the hard oil squishing down into the ridges of my molars was the oral equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard.
The coconut oil melted unevenly. Little bits of solid oil clung to the grooves of my teeth while the rest coated my mouth and tongue in a viscous evil. I could feel my stomach starting to object to this sensation in the most effective way it knows how and I was profoundly grateful that there was a sink nearby.
I persisted, thinking of all those benefits to mouth detoxification and gum health. As instructed by the natural living experts, I sucked the oil back and forth through the gaps in my teeth. This is where the “pull” in oil pulling comes from, because forcing the oil through my teeth was indeed like playing tug-of-war with my tongue. And not in a sexy way.
These people who manage to pull oil for 20 minutes? They are the Olympic athletes of jaw, tongue and mouth muscles. I would have thought that 34 years of chewing, often for intermittent stretches lasting far longer than 20 minutes (I call these training sessions dinner) would be sufficient preparation for the act of oil swishing. Au contraire, mon frère.
After twenty seconds I was orally fatigued by the plunger-like force required to squish the coconut oil all around my mouth. Ok, I thought, this is like Crossfit Oil Pulling: I’ll have to tabata this shit. Twenty seconds work, ten seconds rest, eight rounds. Three, two, one, go! You can do this.
No, no I could not. Not even close.
In the end, I oil pulled for about a minute and spit before I gagged – a very real and close possibility at that point. I ran upstairs and brushed my teeth, mouth and tongue with straight baking soda, which was like giving my mouth a healing massage after the violation of the oil pulling.
If you love oil pulling, fantastic. Many people do.
On my Facebook page, oil pulling advocates assured me it gets better and easier, and also recommended different oils, like sesame, which are a little easier to swish. I don’t know. In the interest of a fair assessment I might try this miracle technique again. Maybe. But probably not, and certainly not any time soon.
But that doesn’t mean I’m giving up on the idea of uber-gargling for health altogether.
If the idea of spending twenty minutes in the morning gargling with oil turns your stomach too, there’s good news! Very limited studies have suggested that it’s the swishing more than the oil that reduces plaque and oral bacteria.
“All participants showed a massive (80 percent) reduction in the amount of bacteria they carried in their mouth after nine days of oil or water pulling, respectively, with both groups showing near-identical results. While the coconut oil users did show a slightly greater reduction in the harmful bacteria, the advantage was too small to be statistically significant, i.e. did not allow the conclusion that it was the coconut oil that made the difference.”
Source: Water pulling as effective as oil pulling for teeth and gums?
So if you are interested in some of the advantages of oil pulling without the oil, try vigorously swishing mineral water.
I’m wondering if the best alternative to oil pulling for folks who can’t tolerate the oil might be a salt-water pull.
Salt water as a mouthwash has a long record of reducing oral bacteria load and inflammation. One study says,
“Saltwater rinses are a very archaic, yet effective, way of killing the bacteria in the mouth. The efficacy of saturated saline rinses lies in the scientific concept behind a diffusion gradient, which leads to dehydration and death of bacteria. Saltwater rinse is a commonly used age-old antibacterial measure. Long prescribed by physicians for sore throats, saturated saltwater rinses have never truly become mainstream, probably because of the unfavorable taste. A recent investigation by White and Armaleh found significant reductions in salivary bacterial counts with daily saturated saline rinses in adults.”
Source: Comparative evaluation of the effects of an alum-containing mouthrinse and a saturated saline rinse on the salivary levels of Streptococcus mutans
What do you think? Do you oil pull? Is the oil necessary for effective oral swishing or might other liquids be just as good? My friend The Crunchy Chicken teased me by suggesting bourbon pulling, but I would never waste good bourbon like that.
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Oil pulling is great! Himalayan salt water rinse is wonderful. And the occasional 3am urine mouthwash is even better. Swishing coconut oil is not strenuous. The author is making a much greater deal of it.
I just read about your experience. I was looking for info on the natural oily substance that now seems to coat my teeth. I have been taking cod liver oil capsules along with vitamin E, minerals, and plenty of butter and coconut butter, which I eat, not swish. Since I have added the cod liver oil I have noticed this coating. I do have a tooth that has filled in from a sizable cavity over the past 3 months, before I undertook the full regime of Vit A + D. I would guess this has to do with my eating many raw foods, butter, and raw milk, plus some green supplements, and fish oil capsules. I also have stopped eating most pre made foods, even crackers, cereals, and many breads. I have researched and believe that the true culprit in cavities is vitamin deficiencies, mainly the oil based vitamins, and minerals. We can scrub and scrub and scrub, but without proper vitamins to nourish the teeth, they decay easily.
Like yourself, I had one go at oil pulling. It was such a repulsive, disgusting experience that I will not repeat it. I have heard that swishing or pulling high-quality wheat grass powder mixed with water is highly beneficial for dental health. Just about anything would have to be better than the coconut oil experience. YUCK!
I really appreciate this post and the interesting comments and experiences. I too found oil-pulling to be gag-worthy and unpleasant after trying it a couple of different times. I was curious about the comments that it’s just a “snake oil” fad and unscientific, so I did a little searching and found this from the National Institute of Health:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3131773/
The abstract states that it is a traditional Ayurvedic practice and does have scientific validation. But it’s still not for me! Thanks for sharing your experience with it! I do a fair amount of water swishing already, just because I have found it to be a helpful supplement to brushing and flossing, so I guess I will just continue with that!
Thanks for validating my belief that the primary benefit is from the prolonged swishing with any fluid… not being able to stomach a mouthful of oil, I’ve been doing 10-20min salt water swishing, mixing in some Listerine which contains some essential oils.
I do it roughly every day, sometimes twice when I have time. I do it for 15-20 minutes and I have no problem with it at all. I use a little bit less than tablespoon and it makes bad breath go away if done daily and also whitens the teeth quite a bit, to my obeservations.
I cant even smell honey, you have trouble tasting raw oil. That is all.
I read that salt water will erode teeth enamel. I mean look what it does to pipes and car frames (up north.)
Erica, THIS WAS THE BIGGEST WASTE OF TIME READING, and i have no idea why you would write such rubbish. Everyone knows int’s not pleasant to do Oil pulling. No need to describe the obvious just because you don’t have anything better to do. You did not give one bit of useful information. I hope the other information you provide is more interesting.
I did two oil pulls with coconut oil and I developed a canker sore and my cheeks are sloughing terribly. I’ll never use coconut oil again. I’m not allergic to coconuts or anything but my inner cheeks hurt and are peeling terribly.
Hello.
Just found your post, thank you for leading me to salt water will try that tomorrow morning, I managed less than 20 seconds of coconut oil before spending the next four hours dry heaving over the sink.
3 weeks on I am still in trauma by the experience.
CM
I feel your pain! 😀
Oil pulling is awesome. But…….you have to use the right oil. No tub. That is refined or heated and it is not good for pulling. You need unrefined cold expellor pressed coconut oil in a glass jar. It will be solidish when you open it so a level tablespoon and it will melt in your mouth. It will go liquid after you open it, the jar that is. Pure unrefined is the way to go, organic even better. The stuff in the tub like LouAnns is a chemical. I made the same mistake once and it will stain your teeth. I wouldn’t even cook with it. But the real stuff after a week what a difference. 20 minutes is not that long. Take a shower or make the bed. What ever time flies. Activated charcoal also works. Use your fingers after pulling or with the charcoal and soon your teeth will be squeaky clean. If using charcoal, buy the capsule form and empty it into an old cup, wet your finger and rub it in. Both are great for whitening and removing toxins from teeth and gums. Use your fingers and thumbs and given time – TIME – and it will work. Use quality products and pay attention. It only works if you REALLY want it too. Happy health and stay away from flouride.
I have done oil pulling & after two weeks my teeth were whiter & no more plaque behind my bottom teeth, it softened & went away! There are many different oils you can use. Check website http://www.living-smarter-with-fibromyalgia where she tells you how to do the oil pulling in10 minutes
I used coconut oil as well. Any other oil was just too thick in texture and made me gag. You want to melt the coconut oil first before swishing it in your mouth. It’s much easier that way than waiting for it to melt in your mouth. Also just slightly swish the oil. If your jaw hurts you are working too hard at it. I myself started out with 5 minutes of swooshing and worked my way up to 10 min. I never could do the full 20 min, so I would do 10 min, take a break and than do another 10 min. For me in the past this has been a life saver of keeping gum infections at bay if I couldn’t make it to the dentist right away. I also swear my plaque was starting to disappear.
I will have to try the salt rinse as a swooshing technique. Thanks for mentioning this in your article.