Rinse My Mouth With Oil? Is That Really a Thing?
We’ve heard of oil pulling, but how on earth did anyone ever come up with it? What is it? Does it work?
Dental oil pulling is essentially this:
You swish with food-grade oils such as coconut oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, or combinations thereof as a mouthwash.
Floss, brush and then rinse with the oil. There’s no need to use toothpaste when you’re oil pulling.
It’s been around for thousands of years, actually.
Oil Pulling claims to “pull” the toxins and plaque bacteria out from under your gums and off of your teeth, therefore reducing tartar buildup, cavities, and gum and bone disease.
So does it work?
Well, there are all kinds of articles out there. You will find some that say no, and some that say yes. You can read about the benefits. You’re sure to find a few “no research has been conducted to prove that it works” statements, along with people calling it a hoax.
What we want to do for you here is pass along our actual experiences with it. Real people. Our real patients’ results with oil pulling, over the past two decades.
Here it goes...
Oil Pulling Works
The patients who practice it CORRECTLY have absolutely amazing teeth and gum health.
The teeth seem to have a smoother, oily-er feel to them, almost as if they could actually REPEL plaque and keep it from adhering.
BUT…you must do it correctly, which means swishing with it for 20 minutes or longer.
Here is a story about one particular patient of ours:
He only comes in to get his teeth cleaned about every 3-5 years or so. When he comes in, there is hardly ANY cleaning to do in his mouth.
He doesn’t bleed. His gum tissue is tight and pink. He is cavity free. He flosses daily. He eats healthy. He has little dental worry as he lays his head down at night.
It’s not smart to wait that long for a cleaning and checkup, of course. You always want your honest dentist’s eyes on you. There are always the “what if’s.”
The oil pulling sure seemed to keep him far away from dental trouble, though.
BUT, his routine wasn’t just a quick, 30-60 second Listerine or ACT mouthwash swish session!
Oil pulling is a full-blown commitment.
To oil pull correctly, you must swish the oils in your mouth daily, for 20 min or longer.
This patient swished with sunflower oil alone, while running on his treadmill. Oftentimes for almost an HOUR !
We’ve tried it ourselves. This is what it feels like:
It’s different.
It’s thick and oily at first, but as your saliva breaks it down, it thins out.
You’ll need to spit a little out here and there along your 20 min journey. It takes some getting used to.
If you’re a determined person, have at it! You can do it, and it will do wonders for you. It works for those who follow through.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen very few people follow through with it correctly. That has been our experience.
We all just tend to revert to lazy human-hood at the end of the day.
Patient compliance is almost ALWAYS the problem. For those who are strong and determined, though, oil pulling can do wonders for you!
The second best option we have found if you don’t believe you’re going to make the 20 min trek...is Dr. Ginger’s Coconut Oil mouthwash.
If you like coconut flavor, this stuff tastes AMAZING, and it leaves your mouth with the same clean, smooth, oily feel.
We’ve seen improvement with patients using this mouthwash.
There are some cautions we have read about regarding oil pulling. We have not necessarily observed these ourselves.
1. It has been cautioned that we should be careful not to inhale the oil into our lungs while swishing accidentally. This would definitely not be a good thing. So don’t do that. The treadmill routine that our particular patient above chooses may not be the best idea due to this risk.
2. Also, because your saliva is breaking down the oil, we could ASSUME that it’s safe to spit down the sink. We’ve never heard of any plumbing problems occurring with oil pulling, but be mindful of your plumbing and keep an eye on that possibility.
3. Lastly, FOOD Grade oils only! We have to make this clear, juuuuuuussst in case.
And that, my friends, is truly all you need to know about oil pulling. You just need to try it and see if it’s for you!
Though it would be best if we did, we’ll never claim to know it all, all of the time. NO ONE knows it all! We do claim honesty, though, and we sincerely want to help as many people as we can! Our patients have maintained beautifully, following our conservative recommendations :)
So, thanks so much for reading and letting us spill our SODA! Remember to take the time to find your HONEST DENTIST, and be sure to browse around our links and follow us on social media for answers to more of your exciting dental questions, like:
