Oil pulling - has anyone heard of this or tried it?

[Squally]

Both my wife and I have noticed that tartar/plaque does not stick anymore to our teeth. Oil pulling definately makes your teeth more smooth and whitens them also (up to a point). We don't always do it everyday because it takes some time, but we have been doing it enough that it is keeping our teeth in good shape! It removes alot of the crap/buildup from the mouth that causes bad oral health it seems.

[GutterBeast]

I tried this and noticed a difference right away. I used coconut oil and did it for about 15 minutes. I asked our local health food store supplement gal if she had heard of it and she said: "I can't officially recommend it, but I believe in it and do it." she also said that the blood circulates a full cycle in about 20 minutes, so that is why you should try to do it longer, so you can make sure you pull everything out. Also note that coconut oil starts out as a solid, it should probably be spit out into the toilet or trash vs. a drain

I will keep doing this and report back. I am wanting to try Thieves soon too

[bbrown]

Doing it for the first time as I post...using Coconut oil. I can't imagine using a different oil --Nasty!

[LDSNZ]

This is very interesting. I am going to try it.

Me 3

[LDSNZ]

Use Olive Oil.

Why?

[believer]

Believer did not say "Use Olive Oil," Mullenite wote it.

However, olive oil was the first one that I tried because that was the only one I had. Later I bought some seseme oil. Olive oil didn't taste as bad, but I think I was getting better results with the seseme oil. I haven't tried any other oil. I think I will try the coconut oil. I thought swishing with any oil would be terrible, but it wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be. It's the time that it takes that gets me.


Believer

[Original_Intent]

I swish while I shower (TMI?) =))

[infowarrior]

This sounds very interesting and I must give it a try!

[soberminded]

I have been oil pulling since the beginning of the year. I use sesame oil. The benefits are amazing. My mouth feels squeaky clean, no more bad breath, no plaque, frequent bowel movement daily, and clear complexion among other things. One night i had a toothache and the oil pulling cleared that pain within an hour. This is amazing, almost like magic... No bad effect so i will continue to do this.

OI, Thank you for sharing this valuable info.

[Strawberry]

Original Intent,
Thank you SO much for sharing this. I'd never heard of such a thing. I'll run it by my midwife and make sure it's safe to do now while I'm pregnant (the time when my teeth seem to fall apart) and start on it. What another fantastic way to become self reliant!

Blessings!
Strawberry

[Fairminded]

I'm pretty excited by this topic. I have some of the issues mentioned in other posts (like tooth damage from orthodontia, tooth pain, gum swelling, tooth discoloration, etc). I think I dread the dentist more than just about anything else, since it was a nightmare when I had the orthodontia, multiple cavities a visit. Hopefully this can help there.

Oops, time to spit.

[Rob]

Thanks, everyone, for contributing to this thread. I just had a piece of a tooth break off, or that's what we're able to determine thus far, have yet to get to the toothist. Noticed a bunch of tartar build-up. Started oil pulling last night. Already seeing improvements. More on all that later, hopefully. For the time being, just wanted to say thanks. :ymcowboy:

And a special nod to fairminded: thanks for bumping the thread. With the shock of finding out about my current dental state of affairs, I'd forgotten about it. Danke!

[gert]

I swish while I shower (TMI?) =))

=)) =)) =)) =))

[Jason]

You know, if you muscle your way past the gag reflex, all kinds of food possibilities open up.

Unrefined Red Palm oil has to be the ultimate oil to conquer in mastering the gag reflex.

[AshleyB]

Been doing this the past couple days and Iv'e noticed I have slept so soundly at night! It's been wonderful in that regard. My mouth also feels lots cleaner but not much else to report so far. I'll give an update soon. First time I tried it was with Evoo because thats what I had. But since then I have been using coconut oil.

[Original_Intent]

Another report - not a good one, I am afraid.

I ran out of oil at one point months ago, and sadly got out of the habit. I still maintained brushing and the occasional flossing. Then a few weeks ago at the dentist, I had my first cavity in ages, and also gums were in pretty bad shape. So I need to get going on this again - I wish there was a nice "minty" flavored oil I could use - I am not a huge fan of the sesame oil.

I do have some theories on why oil pulling is so effective. One, I found out that saliva is very effective at cavity fighting - I did not know that! And I think oil pulling gets the saliva glands going for the day (or night).

Second, plaque - I really did not realize until this last visit that one of the biggest problesm with plaque was not build up on the teeth so much as it is between the teeth and gums - I suspect the pulling is very effective at "suctioning" the plaque out of there...I know when I was pulling regularly, the hygienist said my gums were in the best shape she had ever seen them.

I am so pleased that so many have given this a try and as far as I have seen, all have had good results. (Of course, if you spent 15-20 minutes brushing/flossing each day, you would probably have good results too!) What I like about it also is I can do it on my drive to work, or while I am showering, etc.

[PSCahill]

Original Intent said, "I wish there was a nice "minty" flavored oil I could use..."
You could try coconut oil (either unrefined, or expeller pressed if you don't like the coconut taste) and add to it a drop or two of spearmint or peppermint essential oil. I haven't done it because I love the taste of unrefined coconut oil, but I do add it to my toothpaste. I make my own toothpaste (tooth scrub, really) that is very simple, and really whitens teeth. Here's the recipe:

TOOTHPASTE
2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil
3 Tablespoons of Baking Soda
5 drops Peppermint Essential oil
5 drops Spearmint Essential Oil
a pinch of Stevia powder (optional)

[AshleyB]

I bought some organic expeller pressed coconut oil and it really doesnt even have a taste at all. Just tastes like nothing. Like im just swishing saliva around.

[Jason]

I've tried several thus far. Coconut, olive, red palm tree, and sunflower. I'll give sesame a shot tomorrow morning.

Red palm is probably the most abrasive and a little irritating to my sinuses. But I'm getting a pretty good sublingual shot of carotenes that would be hard to get elsewhere. Sunflower is probably the smoothest oil followed by olive oil. Coconut has the same issues with red palm oil in mastering the gag reflex while waiting for it to melt in my mouth.

There are different grades of oils like coconut that aren't solid at room temperature.

Unfortunately I have a case of red palm oil left over from making my last batch of soap.

[bbrown]

My 7 y/o daughter woke up this morning with what looks like an abcessed area around her loose tooth. We put some of the Dr. Christopher's herbal tooth stuff on there without any immediate effect (didn't expect one). I couldn't talk her into a slice of garlic on the area, nor cayenne (go figure!) and thought to look up this thread. In less than 10 minutes of swishing with coconut oil the pain had significantly diminished and now she's talking and playing instead of lying down and howling. We'll keep it up throughout the day and use the herbals periodically too.

[Jason]

I've been meaning to throw out a thank you here for some time. Thank you OI for bringing this up. My oral health has never been better.

Also to follow up on my previous post. Sesame oil is about the same as sunflower. Very smooth but does have a little bit of an aftertaste versus sunflower oil.

In terms of pleasantness I'd rate them as follows:

1) Sunflower
2) Sesame/Olive
3) Coconut - mainly due to consistency issues prior to the oil completely melting in mouth
4) Red Palm Oil

Night and day difference between 1 and 4.

[Original_Intent]

You are welcome, I am very gratified that it appears to have been helpful to so many. I need to get back to consistently doing it - I got really tired of the aftertaste of sesame oil - I am going to give sunflower oil a try!

Also, has anyone tried mixing mint extract or maybe cinnamon oil in with a base oil? I have not but it would just be so nice to be able to get the "minty freshness" along with the benefits of pulling. I'd be interested if anyone has found a good way to get a pleasant flavor!

[Bobby Lee Swagger]

You are welcome, I am very gratified that it appears to have been helpful to so many. I need to get back to consistently doing it - I got really tired of the aftertaste of sesame oil - I am going to give sunflower oil a try!

Also, has anyone tried mixing mint extract or maybe cinnamon oil in with a base oil? I have not but it would just be so nice to be able to get the "minty freshness" along with the benefits of pulling. I'd be interested if anyone has found a good way to get a pleasant flavor!

I have some mint flavored fermented Cod Liver Oil that I take on a nightly basis.....but I have to chug it mixed with a glass of milk to mask the overpowering mint.

[Original_Intent]

You are welcome, I am very gratified that it appears to have been helpful to so many. I need to get back to consistently doing it - I got really tired of the aftertaste of sesame oil - I am going to give sunflower oil a try!

Also, has anyone tried mixing mint extract or maybe cinnamon oil in with a base oil? I have not but it would just be so nice to be able to get the "minty freshness" along with the benefits of pulling. I'd be interested if anyone has found a good way to get a pleasant flavor!

I have some mint flavored fermented Cod Liver Oil that I take on a nightly basis.....but I have to chug it mixed with a glass of milk to mask the overpowering mint.

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

[Bobby Lee Swagger]

You are welcome, I am very gratified that it appears to have been helpful to so many. I need to get back to consistently doing it - I got really tired of the aftertaste of sesame oil - I am going to give sunflower oil a try!

Also, has anyone tried mixing mint extract or maybe cinnamon oil in with a base oil? I have not but it would just be so nice to be able to get the "minty freshness" along with the benefits of pulling. I'd be interested if anyone has found a good way to get a pleasant flavor!

I have some mint flavored fermented Cod Liver Oil that I take on a nightly basis.....but I have to chug it mixed with a glass of milk to mask the overpowering mint.

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

Yeah its potent. Doesn't help that I also take it with spicy orange flavored fermented Skate Live Oil. LOL...use that as a reference point for the Red Palm Oil recommendation.