[Roosh]

Have any of you tried oil pulling? It's an alternative to mouthwash that comes with a lot of amazing claims attached to it in removing plaque, whitening teeth, and freshening breath.

The process is simple: put one tablespoon of oil in your mouth (such as sesame, coconut, or olive), and swish gently for 20 minutes. Then spit out in the trash. The theory behind this is the oil removes oil-loving bacteria better than store-bought mouthwashes.

There are some studies that show it's at least somewhat effective as mouthwash, though I have a feeling I can swish even a spoon of water for 20 minutes and remove a lot of junk in my mouth.

http://wellnessmama.com/7866/oil-pulling...al-health/
http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/features/oil-pulling
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19336860
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21911944

Any firsthand recommendations?

[Capitán Peligroso]

I've been oil pulling with coconut oil for about three years now. I'd had issues with bleeding gums for many years, in spite of flossing on the regular. The first time I brushed my teeth after a 15 minute oil pulling session, about 90% of the bleeding was gone; after the second time, it was completely gone. You have to do it at least twice a week to maintain that, in my experience. Also, it leaves your mouth feeling really fresh.

Coconut oil and turmeric are a good combination for a whitening toothpaste too; just keep in mind that your toothbrush is going to turn yellow, and don't brush your teeth with a white shirt on.

[Simeon_Strangelight]

Yes I have started doing it. So far it truly helps with some gum and teeth issues. Also it naturally is supposed to whiten teeth.

I have even heard some people being able to close small holes in the teeth in conjunction with taking supplements, but that's a more advanced healing level. Albeit the number of so called natural dentists is rising in the West - they offer some conventional therapies as well as implants, but also prefer to use natural healing processes while a teeth can still be saved.

Have barely started doing oil pulling, but already noticed some positive results. I recommend it.

BTW - I use coconut oil, which has the least amount of additional taste and is one of the most beneficial for us humans (one of the few cooking oils that can be heated to high temperatures and strangely enough helps you lose some weight in lower doses due to a beneficial Omega 3-6-9 ratio). I always get a sense of freshness out of oil pulling. Generally they recommend using it once a month, but I try to do it once a week.

Ah - never swallow the oil after the sloshing around - rinse thoroughly. Also I doubt that the same thing can be attained by water, since oil essentially absorbs things and some have nutritional and topical healing effectiveness.

You cannot really rely on mainstream dentistry which has been silent on the topic of amalgam, root canals and other goodies which are more toxic than anything (quality implants are fine, but not root canals http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articl...gue.aspx). Also there are an entire line of measures some new biological dentists are offering to save teeth and even close small holes instead of drilling and filling instantly. But since all those measures produce less customers and thus make you less money in the long term it is not really beneficial for the mainstream dentists to support those things.

[Parlay44]

Floss, rinse with peroxide then brush. Never tried oil pulling. What the hell I'll give it a try.

[aeroektar]

I did it for months with coconut oil but stopped out of laziness, definitely has benefits. It really helps loosen the shit on your teeth, so if you brush and floss afterwards you can get your teeth really clean. I think its great for overall health and looking at a jar of coconut oil on my desk think I'll start back up tonight.

[Parlay44]

(03-27-2015 04:49 PM)aeroektar Wrote:  

I did it for months with coconut oil but stopped out of laziness, definitely has benefits. It really helps loosen the shit on your teeth, so if you brush and floss afterwards you can get your teeth really clean. I think its great for overall health and looking at a jar of coconut oil on my desk think I'll start back up tonight.

I wonder if it has to do with us being animals and that we're really supposed to kill and eat raw meat? Do you think eating raw fatty meat would have the same effect?

[Gorgiass]

20 minutes, that's quite a commitment. I can tell you that in the last area I lived oil-pulling was becoming popular among the anti-gmo and vaccine, pro-cloth diaper and reiki crowd (ask me why I moved.) I am not a fan, to be honest probably because I associate it with those anti-science folks. And because as soon as I hear the word "detoxify", well... Anyway, here's a relatively unbiased article on it - http://skeptoid.com/blog/2013/11/11/oil-...mouthwash/

TLDR, it probably helps improve circulation around the gums as you move the muscles and tongue, any moving substance will knock lose plaque and food debris, and incorporated with into an already good dental routine it may be neutral or slightly beneficial. In India, where most of the studies were done, and where access to modern methods may be lacking it is certainly better than nothing at all. According to http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/oil-...-your-leg/ which is biased against, studies have shown that standard mouthwash, presumably used for only a minute or two daily as directed on the bottle, is more effective at reducing plaque causing bacteria.

(03-27-2015 04:08 PM)Zelcorpion Wrote:  

You cannot really rely on mainstream dentistry which has been silent on the topic of amalgam, root canals and other goodies which are more toxic than anything (quality implants are fine, but not root canals http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articl...gue.aspx). Also there are an entire line of measures some new biological dentists are offering to save teeth and even close small holes instead of drilling and filling instantly. But since all those measures produce less customers and thus make you less money in the long term it is not really beneficial for the mainstream dentists to support those things.

As a shattered-tooth, root canal "survivor" I had to read into this, as I found it hard to believe that anything would be worse for my health than the stinking aching tooth fragment my dentist cleaned and capped. That link is dead but I imagine it was pointing to this page. One rebuttal is here - http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/rootcanal.asp

Definitely agree about too many dentists jumping at the opportunity to fill a tooth. An ex never had cavities and when she moved her new dentist starting finding loads of them all of a sudden. After she had two filled and then two more "appeared" she got a second opinion and was cleared. Need to find medical providers you can trust.

[Simeon_Strangelight]

Uploaded a faulty link: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articl...lague.aspx - just added the bracket to the link

Also I would like to add that I don't give a damn what the eco-vegan-natural crowd is doing.

I personally assess everything with an open mind - if it is effective and has no or little side-effects, then I am all for it. Sodium bicarbonate is in it's purity unknown in nature and that stuff is highly effective at treating a huge variety of topical as well as internal problems and health issues with humans.

I embrace technology and science full-heartedly, but I would love it to have the scientific method applied and not the political/agenda/business-serving one that is so prevalent nowadays.

[RichieP]

I do it a few times a week. Coconut oil since it's antibacterial. I swish for a few mins though, 5-10, not necessarily 20.

Not sure about the difference now but I'm doing it as a preventative measure. Also using electric toothbrush (which rocks).

That said I do notice my gums havent bled in a long while (which would happen often).

I dont believe that it does anything more than improve teeth and gum health though. I believe the "20 minutes" recommendation stems from the (Ayruvedic?) idea that it can pull stuff out from your sinuses and the rest of your body, so the longer you go the more you pull out, etc. Don't buy that.

[Dusty]

I thought this thread was going to be about Exxon paying for universal orthodontia in Japan.

[CleanSlate]

I do this a couple times a week, a few minutes each time. Maybe I don't do it enough but I only have seen marginal benefits. Mouth does feel cleaner and fresher, but I don't yet see a tooth whitening effect. Doing it for 20 minutes is not easy, I'd have to spit out after a few minutes and replace with a fresh spoonful. I use coconut oil.

[aeroektar]

(03-27-2015 05:09 PM)Parlay44 Wrote:  

I wonder if it has to do with us being animals and that we're really supposed to kill and eat raw meat? Do you think eating raw fatty meat would have the same effect?

Yes, I'm not a dentist or authority on oral health, but from what I've researched, its our diets that cause problems. I don't eat a strict primal/paleo diet, but it should clear up a lot of issues.

[Cyclone]

I used to do this back in college

Supposedly it was supposed to produce some white fluid upon spitting out, which is supposedly all the toxins. However, when I upgraded from "refined" sunflower oil to organic high-quality type, suddenly I was spitting out pure oil. Hmmmm, a low-quality oil removes toxins more efficiently when the pure one does not? First signs of quackery to me

If it does have other benefits go ahead, ultimately you only have yourself and your own firsthand experiences to trust.
.

[Lizard King]

I can manage about 5 minutes swilling it around. I do it on and off. It takes a bit of getting used to.

Not sure how beneficial it is, but it has stopped some problems I had from drinking too much energy drinks.

[Simeon_Strangelight]

OK - just read an article on the subject that linked to 5 studies which support oil pulling as highly beneficial for a variety of reasons:

Article:
http://www.realfarmacy.com/oil-pulling-r...ght-along/

Studies:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC444260/
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ia...6d4e227a0f
http://www.jisppd.com/article.asp?issn=0...ast=Asokan
http://www.ijdr.in/article.asp?issn=0970...ast=Asokan
http://www.jisppd.com/article.asp?issn=0...ast=Asokan

Coupled with personal experience I think there is ample reason to do it vs. not doing it. Since oil pulling can be done while doing something on the computer, working or watching TV - it costs little and the benefits outweigh any so far non-existing negatives.

[Clockwerk]

I have done oil-pulling with both coconut oil and "brazed" sesame oil. I felt I had better "results" with the brazed sesame oil.

What I mean by "results" is after the 15-20min is up, the sesame oil is definitely looking pretty disgusting, so from that I get that it was effective in removing crap from my mouth. The coconut oil would get really broken-down but appeared not to have the same effect.

These observations are by no means scientific of course.

"Brazed" means that I pour some sesame oil in a saucepan, and pour a little bit of water in there too. I slowly heat up the oil until the water I added starts to "crackle". The brazing process removes impurities from the oil itself. Store in a GLASS bottle.

I learned the brazing of sesame oil from my Transcendental Meditation teacher who knows a lot about Ayurvedic health maintenance techniques.

The actual instructions I was given was to apply the brazed sesame oil to my skin a few minutes before a bath or shower to draw impurities from the body. I believe the technique is called "panchakarma". I thought I'd try it with oil-pulling and it seems to be effective.

The concern I have now is finding a pure source of sesame oil since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.

[Oz.]

Has anyone tried doing this with olive oil?

[Nascimento]

I recently made mouth washing a consistent habit... Used to be something I skipped out on.

Am I missing out on something here if I'm already using Listerine daily?

Anyone see oil-pulling more beneficial overall as opposed to mouthwash?

[Simeon_Strangelight]

(05-21-2015 09:41 AM)Nascimento Wrote:  

I recently made mouth washing a consistent habit... Used to be something I skipped out on.

Am I missing out on something here if I'm already using Listerine daily?

Anyone see oil-pulling more beneficial overall as opposed to mouthwash?

I wouldn't use toxic mouthwash in the first place. The number of cancer causing chemicals in it should be banned anyway - will be toxic only in accumulation of course after using it for long periods. There are natural mouthwashes that you can use instead.

Oil pulling however is something else - you can read the studies and check out - especially coconut oil has antibacterial and antifungal properties that work to strengthen the natural bacterial balance within our body - in this case our mouth. Humans without the right kind of bacteria - pro-biotics - would not even survive, so yes - oil pulling is a natural form of keeping teeth, gums and tongue healthy without killing everything off and then trying to repair the damage as is the usual procedure with modern medicine (except for some notable exceptions - not dissing anything here).