Image and text by Gabrielle.
In January, I wrote a post about oil-pulling and confessed that I hadn’t brushed my teeth since the first week of December. It’s been a few months and I thought I would give a little update.
It’s a short update! Basically, I’m still at it. I still oil pull every morning for 20 minutes — even when I’m traveling. I still love it. I still see benefits. I still use this coconut oil. I still haven’t seen the dentist (I know. I know. I need to go!), but I have been to the orthodontist, who took full x-rays. He doesn’t know I’m oil-pulling, but commented that my oral hygiene was (and I quote) “impeccable”. That’s good news! Especially considering my teeth haven’t been professionally cleaned since July 2013.
Most of all, I still think it’s quite crazy that I don’t brush or floss or use toothpaste or mouthwash. And I haven’t for almost 5 months now. Hah!
I promise, I’m not offended at all if you feel like it’s quackery. This is not something I feel like a passionate advocate for — I haven’t asked anyone to try it, even my kids. And I get that other people might try it and decide they don’t like it at all. For me, it’s a pretty straightforward thing and doesn’t involve much mystery — I can see and feel that my teeth are cleaner after oil pulling, I can tell that my breath is better, I can see that my teeth are whiter. If I didn’t experience physical differences after the oil pulling, I’m sure I would have given it up. But for now, I plan to stick with it until I don’t enjoy it anymore.
I’d love to hear what your thoughts are. Have you tried oil pulling? Did you like it? Did you find it impossible to swish for 20 minutes? Have you tried different oils? Does the whole idea make you roll your eyes? Chime in!
P.S. — If you have no idea what I’m talking about when I say oil pulling, start with this post, where I explain what I know about oil pulling and link to more sources on the subject.
I love oil pulling!
I use olive oil because I don’t like the taste of coconut.
I’ve been doing it for about 4 months now.
I feel like my teeth are stronger.
I like having the twenty minutes in the morning to be quiet and not talk and just think things over…it’s almost like meditating!
When you posted the first time about this, it reminded me to start oil pulling again. I managed it again for about three weeks and then just couldn’t find the 20 minutes in the morning. So, I need to start yet again because I really want to do this for an extended period of time. Just need to figure out how to get that 20 minutes when I don’t have to be available to my daughters!
Thanks for the update — impressed you have stuck with it so long!
I found out about oil-pulling from your website, and I’m very grateful to you. I have been doing this with unrefined sesame oil for a few months now, and it really seems to be helping with my advanced gum disease. Thanks for the recommendation!
I’ve been oil pulling since January and love it! Just went to the dentist last week and they hardly had to do any scraping–I was out in less than 20 minutes! For gagging, I melt the coconut oil in the side of my mouth, as others have said. I love that oil pulling made my allergies DISAPPEAR, and seems to have made my skin smoother and less prone to breakouts (just from swishing in my mouth for 20 minutes a day). I was on vacation and forgot to swish–then got a cold and a few pimples, which could have been caused by traveling or by skipping the oil pulling. Either way I went straight back to coconut oil once my virus allowed me to breathe through my nose again. Skeptics should try it before they dismiss it!
I would like to give it a try do you think the coconut oil form trader joes will work for this oil pulling thing?
I’d never heard of oil pulling until your January post. I’ve been thinking about it ever since. Now I have to do it. I’m getting some coconut oil today!
I have been pulling since your first post about the oil pulling. I started with the morning pulling, but then swapped to the evenings as I found it easier- I can read in bed while doing it. I do however brush my teeth in the morning. I didn’t find anything wrong with my teeth, neither did my dentist. I quite enjoy the whole process and don’t find it unpleasant. I did use too much oil at the very beginning, and I struggled breathing but I found the right balance and now feeling fine. I will definitely continue oil pulling! :)
After being intrigued by your initial post on oil pulling, I also came across a kid’s cookbook (http://www.simple-balance.ca/cookbook/) that uses coconut oil in a lot of the recipes. It makes baking so much yummier (and hopefully healthier), but the real benefit of coconut oil came next when I happened to hear that coconut oil is good for combatting headlice. After months of off and on struggles with head lice using pesticides and all sorts, we tried it and within 24 hours we didn’t have a problem anymore. We’ve used it a few times since as a preventative measure, when we were aware that they were doing the rounds again, but (knock on wood) we rid ourselves of them. It turns out coconut oil is toxic to lice! Cleaner teeth, healthier (and yummier cookies) and lice free! Thanks for pointing us in the right direction!
So timely! I just finished swishing this am. I find it helps me clear my sinuses better than I could before. I am currently battling a sinus infection and wondering if it’s ok to oil pull when sick? I figured it was natural so couldn’t hurt. Breathing slightly better just wish it would last.
I’ve started oil pulling at night. I’ve been surprised by how much I like it. My mouth feels so much cleaner!
This intrigues me so much! I have read countless things about oil pulling but I’ve never read a true “testimony” about it and now that I have I may try it for myself! I’m very interested to see what your dentist has to say about it!!
I’ve been doing it since January and still love it, though some mornings I am dying to get straight to my tea! I do still brush my teeth twice a day, but I have switched toothpastes. I am now using one called Earthpaste, which doesn’t have fluoride. It also doesn’t have any glycerin. In theory, glycerin coats your teeth and helps prevent plaque from attaching to them, but I have read that glycerin also makes it difficult for the teeth to “remineralize,” part of the natural growth cycle of teeth. I wonder if some of the whitening effects people are seeing are in part due to no more glycerin (bc they’re not using toothpaste)? I love this toothpaste by the way and don’t think I could ever go back to the “regular” kind: way too many chemicals and way too sweet!
I started oil pulling after your first post and have continued ever since. Sometimes I pull morning and night so I feel like my mouth is especially clean. I still floss and brush my teeth with a toothbrush and toothpaste after pulling, mostly because while I feel my teeth and mouth have been cleansed by the oil I still feel that “fur” on my tongue and like to thoroughly brush it off. I got my husband hooked too because after my mouth was fresher I really started to notice how unfresh his smelled and well, that just didn’t sit well. So now he’s hooked and we’ve started making out again! HA! It’s not just for the teens!
But here’s the real kicker. We live in Ethiopia with our small children and there are lots of colds and respiratory infections that go around. Lots of viruses and with the pollution in Addis Ababa, we have a lot of sinus issues and I used to get tonsillitis very often. But since pulling, I don’t get the colds my kids bring home, my tonsils are clean, I never have that funky gross third world phlegm in the back of my throat now when I wake up. The pulling really disinfects and it’s nice not getting the full-on runny nose sore throat colds that the kids bring home from school! So thank you!
I have done oil pulling on and off for several months – mainly b/c I can never seem to find a good 10-20 min chunk when it works for me to not be able to verbally respond to one of my kids (the 2 yr olds favorite activity is to “play” with me while I’m getting ready for work in the morning). It’s total laziness on my part that brushing is just faster. I also have really like it every time I’ve done it. When I was at my most consistent with it, I still didn’t get to the tipping point where I felt like I didn’t need to still brush my teeth — I found myself brushing quickly and then oil pulling or vice-versa, but maybe that was a mental connection. Making me want to try it again!
I’ve never tried oil pulling, but I recently attended a lecture at my college by a very well-known dentist, who mentioned that she thought it worked VERY well. She said she thinks it is a completely acceptable alternative to brushing. Hope that helps clear up any concerns about what dentists might think of it.
I’ve been doing it for almost 3 months now and I love it! My teeth are definitely whiter and feel so clean afterward. We did just move to Arizona, so I no longer have to wait for the oil to melt in my mouth, I can just take a swig from my jar–which sounds even more gross, but it works.
I tried it after reading your original post about it! I did it faithfully for a couple of months until we adopted a newborn :) and I got out of the routine. I just started it up again today!
I do find that it seems to make my teeth a bit whiter, and it also really seems to help when I am starting to get a sore throat. I usually just oil pull in the morning and brush as normal at night, because at night the oil pulling just doesn’t seem to get my teeth clean. No matter how vigorouslly I swish, I still have gunk stuck between my teeth. My teeth are quite straight (thanks to braces years ago) but maybe they are somehow more prone to plaque buildup than other people’s?
Two things I wanted to say about the gagging: I definitely found I got used to it over time. I also learned that sometimes I gagged if my mouth got too full. What helped me with that: I try to carry around a small cup or glass with me so that if I start feeling like there is too much liquid (I know, gross to talk about) and I’m close to gagging, I can immediately spit out a little into the cup without having to run for the closest trash can. Early on I always seemed to start with too much oil, not allowing for how much saliva would build up.
I also think it helps to oil pull while doing something that keeps my mind distracted: like cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast. If I have too much mental energy to spare I will focus on the fact that I can’t swallow for 20 minutes, and then the gag reflex sets in fast!
I’ve been at it somewhat regularly for a handful (mouthful?) of months thanks to your inspiration! I dig it. But I still do the normal brushing/flossing at night.
I’m going to try it tonight! I am weirdly excited about it, because I too have suffered from tooth sensitivity since I was pregnant with my son.
One other “weird” thing I tried on a whim that totally stuck was the oil face washing method, which a few other commenters mentioned. I have tried different combos of oils, and finally settled on jojoba oil. I put about a teaspoon in my palm & spread it on my face, then hold a warm, wrung out damp washcloth on my face until it cools, and then rinse the cloth and wipe any remaining oil off my face.
My skin feels perfectly balanced afterward — not oily, not dry — which is usually a big problem for me. I’ve tried to go back to regular face wash a few times, but I am always disappointed!
I’ve been oil pulling off and on. I also sometimes have the gagging reflex all of a sudden towards the end. Thanks for all the suggestions. I think it will help me make oil pulling more of a routine.
I find doing oil pulling in the shower and while getting ready creates a good amount of time to “swish”. I’ve also just started using the coconut oil to wash my face and as a moisturizer on my body and so far I really like it! It makes my skin very soft – helps my wrinkles and hasn’t caused any blemishes.
Long comment alert!
Thanks so much for posting an update about your experience with oil pulling. I started trying it with coconut oil about 3 weeks ago, and found that I also really just love doing it. I incorporate it into my day first thing when I get up, and since I shower daily, I just swish while I am showering, drying off, moisturizing, and choosing an outfit (which takes about 15-20 minutes, sometimes longer if I cannot figure out what to wear, haha). I get up before all the rest of my family, so it’s not affecting needing to communicate with anyone at that time, which was a hesitation I had before realizing I could just do it right after waking up.
Embarrassing confession: my main reason for wanting to try oil pulling is that even though I practice good dental hygiene (I’m a champion brusher and flosser), I have always nevertheless been aware of always having bad breath, and I have also always been very self-conscious about it. It’s not bad breath that smells of decay (I haven’t had a cavity in years), but more just sour bad. Even after brushing and flossing really well, my breath would never stay minty fresh, or fresh at all. I’ve always been hyper aware of it but am not sure if others have been (at least I hope others haven’t been!). So reading that fresher breath is a benefit of oil pulling is what really motivate me to try it. Plus I loved the fact that coconut oil is a natural product, not a conventional mouthwash, which I have also tried to use for fresher breath, without any noticeable success.
I’m so happy to say that I have had really amazing results from oil pulling on the fresher breath front, and hope that it with continued swishing that it keeps on improving even more. Each morning after swishing, I spit the oily saliva mixture into a little dish so that I can allow the oil to re-harden for a while, instead of spitting spit directly into the trash. I just place the little dish on a high shelf in my bathroom, so that I can later scoop out the hardened “mixture” with a tissue and put it into the trash. At the start of oil pulling, I noticed that the dish itself smelled horrible after I emptied it! Just like my bad breath–very sour, totally yucky. It was sort of shocking and quite humbling–perhaps my breath has been more offensive than I knew! But I decided that if the bad smell was in the oil and the dish (which is easily cleanable), that the bad smell was getting out of my mouth! And over the weeks of doing this, I have really noticed that the yucky sour smell in the dish has definitely diminished. On most days the dish smells just fine now when I sniff it after removing the mixture. Some days it’s still a little sour, but not anywhere near as offensive to me as it had been at first. I don’t know if I would have been able to track this improvement if I had been spitting directly into the trashcan, so I’m glad I did it this way. More importantly, I find that my mouth, in general, feels much cleaner and much fresher (more neutral would be a good way to describe it, actually), and for most of the day. I’m super happy with the results and will definitely keep oil pulling. I still brush and floss too.
I’m not exactly sure what all is at play with this improvement (which is having a really positive effect on something as simple as me just talking with a co-worker or with a fellow bus commuter–I don’t have to reach for a mint first), but I know it’s helping to give me a cleaner breath, and therefore a cleaner mouth. I haven’t noticed whiter teeth so much quite yet–I wish I had taken a before picture, actually–but if I do, then all the better. As for gagging, which others are worried about, I have had no issues with that. Ooh, and also, I have noticed that my complexion feels awesome. Velvety! I have a fine complexion already, but wouldn’t have ever described my cheeks as velvety before oil pulling. : )
Jen
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I have started it 2 months ago. It has been strange at first; just to get used to coconut oil in my mouth.
At the beginning I have tried with no brushing and flossing, because that is what you’ve said you are doing. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me. My gums started bleeding and became sensitive and my teeth near the gums had a film of dental plaque. Benefits that I saw were: whiter, shiny teeth and no bad breath.
I have continued oil pulling but started flossing at night and brushing my teeth (no toothpaste) after oil pulling. It took some time, but my gums were healthy again, my tongue looked amazing (not white like before), and I have continued to see the benefits I have mentioned above. Here and there I miss flossing and brushing and my gums don’t seem to mind. They look healthy. I will continue oil pulling because I definitely see the benefits, above all, healthy looking tongue and no bad breath were the best.
I was having constant tooth pain for about 4 months which was giving me constant headaches. I went to the dentist – they found nothing. I also went to the doctor about headaches- nothing. I was up for trying anything so I decided to try oil-pulling with coconut oil. I did a fair amount of research and found that it was best to do it in the morning. For 2 weeks, I did it every morning and in the evening — amazingly my toothache went away as did my headaches. After that, I dropped down to mornings only. After pulling, I rinse with water and brush my teeth. Brushing just works for me. I am beyond happy with the outcome and anyone who mentions toothaches I tell them to oil pull. It’s amazing that I don’t have headaches anymore and I can now chew on the side of my mouth that had the toothache. I am thinking of trying out sesame oil.
Anyone but me thinks the name is soooo dumb? Let’s rename it, shall we? Any good ideas? (-:
I started oil pulling right after your post about it. I had heard of it earlier, but hadn’t heard about any of the benefits.
The first day was hard–I gagged because of the coconut oil in my mouth, but since day two, it’s been easy sailing with no adverse reactions. The benefits I’ve seen are whiter teeth, better breath, and less teeth sensitivity. I LOVE this. Now the swishing is just a part of my morning routine.
So thank you so much for posting about it, and for posting an update.
I started oil pulling after your first post on it and am a fan–teeth are definitely whiter and feel cleaner. Some people have mentioned gagging–I melt the coconut oil in the microwave first to avoid that. Also, I find 20 minutes goes fast when I’m getting ready and doing morning chores. Thanks for getting me started with this!
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Okay, I saw a flurry of oil pulling posts a few months ago and haven’t heard much about it since, so seeing your update re-inspired me to try this out. I did my first 20 minutes tonight and although I had a few moments now and then of gag reflex, I made it through! Excited to see how it goes… thanks for being my inspiration!
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Hi Design Mom,
My wife and I have started. It seems to begin working fairly soon. REMEMBERING to do it regularly is has been the challenge. What I find most compelling about your case is omitting brushing. That is VERY encouraging. Not that I would but just that it can be that powerful! We have also used Young living essential oils for bone gain but again, it requires dedication, comittment, REMEMBERING! Thanks for your blog. Our 21 year-old lives where we raised her in LA (CalState Northridge). We live in NH. Well….it is what it is. Next move – South America – just for hoildays……of course(:
Gabrielle, I would love to hear a 3rd update on your oil pulling experience, especially what your results were at the dentist! I do it on & off, and definitely can feel how much cleaner my teeth are. I also have some gum recession, so more oil pulling & less brushing should help with that. I pull in the shower or while watching TV at night after the kids go to bed, and sometimes in the car too. I just spit it out into a small dixie cups, let it harden, then throw away.
It’s 2020 and I’d love to hear an update too. :D