Oil pulling is by far the most hippie thing I’ve ever done.
If you had told me 2 months ago that I was about to stop brushing my teeth, my confused response would have been something like, “Because I’m going to be in coma?” Brushing teeth has been such a part of my daily routine (and no doubt yours as well) that I couldn’t even imagine life without it.
So how did I become someone who has abandoned her trusty toothbrush and tube of toothpaste? Well, I am about to tell you all about my adventure, but first I have to tell you that if you have no desire to try oil-pulling that it won’t bother me at all. I am not writing this to convince you to try it. I really am not. I receive no benefits or advantages if you try it. Zero. I am not in league with any sort of Oil-Pulling World Domination Organization. I am not an authority on oil-pulling. I have not done extensive research on oil-pulling. I have not taught my kids to oil pull. We still go to the dentist — in fact, Betty was there for some cavity work last month. And if you do try it, and don’t like it, I won’t have my feelings hurt one little bit, and I won’t try to convince you to try it again. I promise. This post is just me, reporting on this odd thing I tried and happened to like.
In early December, Ben Blair took a trip to France to oversee some work on The Cottage. While he was gone, I spent a Saturday morning seeing what was happening on Facebook and I happened upon an update from a woman I don’t even know very well, but she shared a link to someone’s blog post about oil-pulling, and said she was curious about it. And I was curious too. So I clicked through and spent an hour or so in an oil-pulling rabbit hole.
Oil pulling is a technique to clean your teeth and mouth. You put a spoonful of oil in your mouth, then swish it around for 20 minutes (yes, 20 minutes!!). Then you spit it out (into the trash can/compost bin, not the sink, so it won’t clog your plumbing).
In the blog posts I read, people were attaching all sorts of dental miracles to oil-pulling, which of course made me hugely skeptical. Oil pulling fills in cavities! Oil pulling relieves toothaches! Oil pulling whitens teeth! Oil pulling absorbs all the harmful bacteria in your mouth! Oil pulling cures the common cold!
A lot of what I was reading gave me huge eye rolls.
But I was still curious, and some of it made sense to me, and some of the voices were very sincere and realistic. So I tried it. I had a jar of raw coconut oil on hand — the kind that’s solid at room temperature. I put a spoonful in my mouth, waited for it to melt, and then started swishing. I wanted to see if I could actually make it for 20 minutes. And I did make it. After the 20 minutes, I spit out the oil, and rinsed my mouth with water. Then, I spent the rest of the day running my tongue over my teeth because they felt so different. In a good way. So I thought to myself, I’ll just try it for a week, and see what I think then.
Ben Blair arrived home a couple of days into my experiment. I was blushing as I told him about it, because I felt so dorky about it, but without even reading a blog post, he wanted to try it. And jumped right in.
After that week, I was still delighted with the results and said to myself, I’ll just try it for a month, and see what I think then. Ben Blair did the same.
Now, it’s been almost 2 months, and we’re both still oil-pulling, and my latest thought is that I’ll just keep doing it until I no longer like it.
Here’s some Q&A featuring questions I get asked most about it:
Q: Doesn’t it gross you out to have a spoonful of oil in your mouth?
A: I thought it would gross me out too! I thought I would gag. I took a spoonful of castor oil when I was trying to induce labor during my 3rd pregnancy, and I still get queasy thinking about it. But when I tried oil-pulling, it just felt like swishing water. It didn’t feel like oil. So it was fine.
Q: I can’t do it for 20 minutes. How do you manage?
A. I think this is the deal breaker for most people who try it. Twenty minutes is a long time. It works for me, because we have a morning routine where Ben Blair drives the kids to school while I tidy up — making beds, doing the breakfast dishes, starting the laundry, etc. I put the oil in when they leave the house and set my phone timer for 20 minutes, then I get to work. The times flies by. If I didn’t have this routine, I probably would have abandoned my oil-pulling experiment.
Q: Have you seen any benefits?
A. Yes. Nothing crazy miraculous, but I can see my teeth are whiter, with less plaque, and I feel like my breath is better for sure. I noticed the breath thing right away. Ben Blair and I are careful to talk to each other in the mornings with our mouths shielded so we don’t have to smell each other’s morning breath, but with the oil-pulling, the morning breath is much better. Not minty fresh, just neutral.
This is less measurable, but my teeth are no longer as sensitive. During my pregnancy with Betty (about 8 years ago), overnight my teeth became really sensitive and I could no longer rinse my mouth out with cold water. Seriously, it happened overnight. It was crazy. Since then, I’ve used Sensodyne toothpaste and that has helped some — it sort of takes the edge off. But I feel like my teeth are much less sensitive since the oil-pulling.
Lastly, this one is vague, but my teeth feel stronger. Like they are more firmly rooted in my mouth.
Q: What oil do you use?
I use Coconut Oil. Cold-pressed, extra-virgin, unrefined. (This is the brand that my grocery store carries. But I’m not necessarily loyal to it.) One day, I was curious and tried olive oil instead. I didn’t like the taste as much, but I did like how my teeth felt, and I liked that it didn’t have to melt first. Also, it left my lips super soft.
Q: Do you ever brush your teeth anymore?
Once in awhile. I oil-pull in the morning, and sometimes at night, if my teeth feel coated or grimy, I’ll brush with water. When I was traveling this last week, I didn’t bring my jar of oil, and instead thought I would just use toothbrush and paste. But after two days I was dying. My mouth was grossing me out. So my brother-in-law, Steve, picked up a jar of coconut oil for me and I oil-pulled during the rest of my trip.
Q: What about flossing?
Well, this is another reason why I think I personally really like oil-pulling. Flossing has always been a really hard habit for me to form. I seem to have strong enamel on my teeth — for most of my life, I’ve eaten way more sugar than I should, but I rarely if ever get a cavity (alas, my kids did not seem to inherit my enamel genes). And flossing doesn’t seem to make a difference either way. Some years I’ve been good at flossing and other years not so good, and I end up with the same results during my dental visits. So it’s hard to convince myself of the benefits of flossing for me personally. I know every body is different and there are people who see great dental health improvements from flossing — but I’m not one of them.
I have tried flossing a couple of times after I oil pull to see if anything is getting left behind, but the oil pulling seems to do a really thorough job of cleaning.
Q: Have you tried to fill in a cavity?
No. We have not attempted any cavity filling. But I’d love to hear if you have success with it. I’d be really curious to have a dentist try it with someone that has a mild cavity. Have them oil pull for a month and see if it makes a difference. Though really, many of the posts I read said the cavity miracles happened with a combination of oil-pulling + drinking raw milk. So who knows.
Q. Does your mouth feel oily after instead of minty fresh?
My mouth actually feels very clean afterwards. Fresh but not minty. Ben Blair likes the minty feel, so sometimes he’ll rinse with mouthwash after. But I don’t like mouthwash — it feels too harsh. Sometimes I do miss that minty feeling. I wonder if chewing on mint leaves would help…
Q. Where did you read about oil-pulling?
I started with this blog post, then started exploring from there. She includes links within the blog post, and there are links in the comments as well. Or, a quick search produces all sorts of relevant articles. There are also 2 books that come up over and over again in the blog posts — one called Cure Tooth Decay, and one called Oil-Pulling Therapy — though I haven’t read either.
——
I think that’s it for now! If you have more questions, feel free to leave them in the comments. And I’d love to hear: Have you tried it? Are you curious about it? Is it too hippie for you to handle? Has anyone reading tried it for a long period? If yes, how is it going? Or did you give it up? And lastly, have you ever tried something casually, maybe out of curiosity, and then adopted the practice for real? Chime in!
P.S. — I wrote another update on oil pulling a few months after this.
This is so interesting…I really want to try it!
Ooh and did you think about maybe putting a tiny drop of peppermint oil in with your coconut oil for that minty freshness?! I wonder if that would work!?
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I didn’t get a chance to read all the the comments so excuse me if this was already mentioned, but why not add spearmint or another essential oil to your coconut oil for that minty or other freshness that might be desired.
An interesting concept with ancient roots. I’m wondering, though, where the 20 minute recommendation originated. I found an article in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine from 2011 that states, “A comfortable amount of fluid is retained with the mouth closed for about 3 minutes, and then gargled. It is a simple rejuvenating treatment, which, when done routinely, enhances the senses, maintains clarity, brings about a feeling of freshness, and invigorates the mind … can also benefit bad breath, dry face, dull senses, exhaustion, anorexia, loss of taste, impaired vision, sore throat, and all kapha related imbalances.” A shorter time period of swishing with the same benefits? I’m game!
I just heard about oil pulling yesterday and did a little research last night. Tried it for the first time this morning with coconut oil. I’ve never had a problem with food textures and I was pleasantly surprised at how neutral the taste was.
Here’s a link to what seemed to describe the science behind it best to me: http://jonbarron.org/article/oil-pulling-detoxing#.UxirrXnd1YU
It seems the basic premise is the time it takes for the process (20 min is crucial) and the swishing of the oil around your mouth forces it to seep into the small spaces under the gums and around the teeth better than most mechanical means like brushing or flossing. My teeth were noticeably smoother after the first time but I’m curious to see where I will be in a week or month from now if I can stick to it!
So I’ve been oil pulling for a few months now. I’ve noticed my teeth are whiter, they feel stronger, less sensitive, and I’m not as prone to getting cavities!! (That was a huge issue for me before!)
However, I love the Minty fresh feeling, so one day, I added a few drops of Wintergreen Essential Oil to my spoon of Coconut oil, and had amazing results! Minty fresh breath without the toothpaste! I loved it.
Are you supposed to not brush teeth while oil pulling?
Okay read this post a few hours ago, went out and bought some coconut oil, and am now in the middle of swishing. So I don’t know of anything yet (still have about 8 minutest to go) but I can’t help but feel like I didn’t actually use enough coconut oil and am just swishing around my spit. Is that weird? I used like a spoonful. But I also feel like I may have swallowed some of it? Are these normal experiences for the first time trying it?
I have a tub in the bathroom, and am going to start in the morning.. Can’t wait to try! I too just saw a post on Facebook, then googled oil pulling and came across you – I’ll let you know how I get on.
I just bought coconut oil today (at sams- $8.50 for a large jar!!) and I plan on trying oil pulling in the morning. What I don’t get is why not brush still? that part confuses me…. maybe I’ll understand tomorrow morning….
Hello, so glad to have stumbled upon this and will be trying it first thing tomorrow morning! I was reading your FAQ section and noticed the comment about missing the minty freshness of toothpaste… You can use a drop of a therapeutic grade peppermint essential oil (such as Doterra) to enhance the flavour of the coconut oil.
I really want to try this, but my concern is, I have really oily skin. Will this make me break out? Especially around the lip area?
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http://www.snopes.com/medical/homecure/oilpulling.asp
Spraying your mouth with Peppermint oil and water will give you the fresh breath after oil pulling. I just read the article about Oil Pulling so I will try this, but I recently bought some peppermint oil and a tiny spray bottle at the whole food market health section poured a little peppermint oil and mix with water and I spray my mouth as often as I feel I want to refresh my breath and I love it. This will work great after oil pulling. Looking forward to trying this.
ok, i just had to try this, as I was curious as well, but I only had olive oil on hand, so today is the first time I ve tried it. Not trying to put all my bad teeth hygiene business out there, but I was born in a country where having pretty teeth was the last of our worries and besides, we could barely find tooth paste and tooth brushes in stores….yes, Lucy is my real name, as my dad always dreamed of leaving the country and living the American dream, which is how I ended up in the States. Anyway, I do have some serious bridge and caps problems when it comes to my teeth and no matter how much I brush and rinse with mouthwash, I always feel like I cannot get rid of a faint bad breath breeze that hits me in my own face and makes me cringe. I am always eating mints to cover it up, I ve never actually asked anyone if my breath stinks, as most people won t tell u the truth anyway. So, I took a mouthful of olive oil and I could only make it to 15 minutes, as it stared tasting extremely bitter, so I spit it out in trash. I ran in the bathroom and lightly brushed my teeth without paste, but rinsed with mouthwash, because I really dislike the taste of olive oil…like I said, that s all I had. In the past few years, the slight gap forming between my bridge and gums, has stored food, which u cannot get no matter how much I brush, I always make my gums bleed from brushing so hard, trying to clean my teeth as well as I can. I cannot floss, because it is a bridge, and the teeth are made out of one piece, almost like a denture, but not a denture, because I cannot take them out. Practically, my real teeth under the bridge are decaying and the bridge starts to separate from the gums, after having this work done almost 21 years ago. People wouldn’t understand unless they have would have to deal with this, I know it s gross, but not much I can do right now till I m ready for serious work to be done on my teeth….expensive work! SO, my point is…I HAVE NEVER FELT MY TEETH SO CLEAN AND NO BAD BREATH AT ALL LEFT IN MY MOUTH, NO FOOD RESIDUE THAT I USED TO FEEL BETWEEN THE BRIDGE AND GUMS!!! The only other thing I noticed, my throat feels a little dry, not sure why. Like I said, this is my first time doing this and I am willing to try this if it will get rid of that faint decay smell that I constantly taste in my mouth and keep my teeth clean at least until I m ready to deal with having this work redone, which I am aware it s coming soon. Sorry for the long explanation!
Next time I will try Coconut Oil…
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How about adding some peppermint essential oil to your oil? Minty fresh.
After going to the dentist & finding out I had SEVEN cavities, I was so excited to try this. I’m wicked bummed I didn’t have the same results.
http://letterstomylittlelove.blogspot.com/2014/03/30-days-of-oil-pulling.html?m=1
There’s really no scientific proof that oil pulling is an effective dental tool:
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/swishing-with-oil-for-oral-health-not-recommended/284490/
Just FYI!
You can easily find such articles pertaining to all alternative treatments, not because they do not work, but rather because most quoted “science” is funded by big pharma whom are much more interested in profit margins than in safe natural cheap and effective therapies that people can do at home without purchasing their drugs.
Science is funded by many sources, but at least they conduct studies. Alternative treatments rely on anecdotal information. It’s not that they don’t work, but there have not been enough controlled studies to take into account the placebo effect and indicate that it could work for the majority of the population. Also, last time I checked, coconut oil was more expensive than toothpaste.
If you miss that minty feeling try adding 10-20 drops of food grade peppermint oil to your jar of coconut oil. Then you get the beast of both worlds! :)
Is there a follow up? Are you still “pulling”? Any side effects or things you weren’t expecting?
Looking forward to a response.
You bet! The follow up post is here.
Oh gosh. Just trying it for the first time now — at night! :( I guess I will have to try again tomorrow morning.
I totally gagged when I put the coconut oil in my mouth, much to my surprise! Eeeks. Well, we shall see how it goes. Thanks for the recommendation!
I recently began an oil pulling regimen, about 10 days ago, after a visit to mthe dentist to have a crown recemented in place and they told me I had an infection which they wanted to prescribe antibiotics for. I was vehemently opposed to taking the antibiotic so I went home and began reading up on a course of action and recalled saving an oil pulling article once, yet had never tried it. So far I am really liking it, I have not, however, given up brushing. I generally oil pull with extra virgin unrefined cocnut oil for 15-20 minutes, sometimes I repeat with a shorter follow up round, after my morning coffee, and then gargle & rinse several times with saltwater (Himalayan Crystal Salt) before brushing with toothepaste just as I had previous to discovering the oil pulling. PS: I never started the antibiotic, the infection is completely gone and I plan to continue the morning oil pulling routine.
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A friend of mine just started coconut oil pulling. Two days in. She’s had trouble with her wisdom teeth over the years and is having trouble now. I will try to update when I hear about her results. I’m trying it for the first time ever as I type this!
I’ve been doing it for a few years. Never have cavities and my teeth have never been whiter or stronger. Highly recommend oil pulling to anyone who wants to try it. Oh and I use extra virgin oil. May give coconut oil a try though. I do live in Thailand, and it’s cheap here :)
Hello,
I have been seeing things on oil pulling on Pinterest & Facebook. After reading up on it, I’ve decided to give it a try! I’ve been pulling with coconut oil for a week now & believe my teeth are whiter. I have also noticed a cavity brewing & the pulling has taken away most of the pain…if I am to continue would my cavity become smaller?
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I haven’t read all 130+ comments but was curious if you have ever tried using 100% pure certified therapeutic grade peppermint essential oil in water as a rinse after your oil pulling. It will give you that mint fresh feeling while supporting you as well. Just one drop in water is all you need. If you’re interested in trying it I can share with you the essential oil brand that I trust.
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Well i’m curious to try it because some toothpaste brands are quite expensive. but i hope its an effective alternative.
I was very skeptical of oil pulling when I first read about it, but your post convinced me to try it at least. The hardest thing is to swish for the full 20 minutes! I salivate so much in response to the oil that I feel like I’m swishing more water than oil and feel like I need another spoonful of oil. I’m not convinced I’m doing it right, since my teeth don’t feel as squeaky clean as after brushing (though less gritty than doing nothing at all). Overall though, I enjoy it more so far. When I brush my teeth, I can only brush my teeth. Oil pulling leaves my hands free to browse the internet while waking up. I’m still going to brush at night just in case!