Oil Pulling: Try it for Whiter Teeth and a Healthy Mouth

It’s no secret that the mouth is a breeding ground of bacteria, and the healthier your mouth, the healthier you will be. Oil pulling is when you use a food grade oil as a mouthwash to clean and disinfect the mouth. When someone is oil pulling, they are using healthy oils to clean the mouth and gums of bacteria. Just like the oil used in a car helps remove the dirt and debris that has accumulated in the engine, oil pulling helps remove the dirt and bacteria in our mouths to make it cleaner. Rinsing your mouth with oil will pick up debris, suffocate bacteria and loosen up plaque and tartar.

Oil pulling has been around for a very long time.The practice of using oil to clean the mouth dates back to ancient times: it traces it’s roots to Ayurvedic medicine and people have been relying on oil pulling for thousands of years. Traditionally it was done with sesame oil but many people (myself included) use coconut oil or olive oil instead.

• Whitens teeth
• Heals canker sores
• Fresh breath
• Healthy gums
• Reduces tooth sensitivity
• Reduces toothache
• Removes tartar and plaque
• Kills bacteria
• Better sleep
• Stress relief
• Helps with sinus congestion
• Fights colds
• Allergy relief
• Helps Breathing
• Clears up skin
• Reduces acne, eczema, psoriasis
• Detox

and much more...!

Some people have reported that chronic conditions have been cured from oil pulling, conditions like high blood pressure, arthritis and heart disease. Many diseases originate in the mouth, because of all the bacteria found there. This bacteria gets into our bloodstream and causes problems and could cause serious diseases. So when you rinse your mouth with oil you eliminate this harmful bacteria which could be making you sick.

Does oil pulling work? My short answer is, Yes! I have been doing it for some time and have seen results. From personal experience, I have noticed that since I have been practicing oil pulling, my mouth feels cleaner, my teeth are less sensitive and my allergies are less severe.

One of the Healthiest Oils Around!

Coconut oil is a great for the skin and it’s very healthy for the body. It also works as an antioxidant and helps fight aging. When I rinse my mouth with oil, I like to use coconut oil because it is antimicrobial: it kills microbes and can stop them from growing or spreading. Coconut oil contains lauric acid; lauric acid is very rare in nature and it’s only found in a handful of things: including palm kernel oil, coconut oil, goat and cow milk and human breast milk. Lauric acid is antibacterial and anti-fungal which is why it works so well in cleaning the mouth. Coconut oil is very healthy and it’s a wonderful oil to use. On top of all these good things, it also has a pleasant taste so it makes oil pulling a little easier.

Common oils to use for oil pulling include: coconut oil, sesame oil and olive oil. Traditionally oil pulling is done with sesame seed oil, but many people use coconut oil. As mentioned before, I prefer to use coconut oil, because of it’s antibacterial properties and because I love the taste. Whatever oil you choose, just make sure that you use a virgin pressed oil for optimum results. When oils are heated up during extraction it kills a lot of the healthy nutrients.

It is best to oil pull on an empty stomach and it's recommended to do it first thing in the morning. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of oil and place it in your mouth. If you are using coconut oil, it might be solid at first, allow it to melt in your mouth and then start swishing. Now this is the hard part: you have to swish it around in your mouth for 20 minutes! I know this seems like a long time, but the amount of time that the oil is in your mouth is crucial. As you swish, the oil starts to remove the gunk and bacteria: on your tongue, on your teeth and in those hard to reach places. 20 minutes is the perfect time to do this, no more or less.

The important thing to remember is that the oil is grabbing up the garbage in your mouth, so try not to swallow it. It’s perfectly normal for a little oil to make it’s way into the back of your throat, and that’s OK, but don’t swallow the whole darn thing. Also, don’t gargle, because mucus from the back of your throat could go into your mouth (Gross, right?). You don’t want to be swishing that around for 20 minutes! If you think this has happened, spit out the oil and start again.

After 20 minutes have passed, spit out the oil (into the garbage), rinse your mouth with water and brush your teeth. Don’t spit the oil out in the sink: you don’t want to risk clogging up your sink with oil.

Don’t

• Don’t gargle while oil pulling
• Don’t swallow the oil
• Don’t spit oil into your sink

Do

• Do spit the oil out in the trash
• Do try to relax while you are doing it
• Do Multitask, the time will pass much faster!

The first few times I tried swishing oil in my mouth, I had a hard time doing it for 20 minutes. I didn’t like it at all, but after the first few times, I found it got easier, especially when I knew what to expect. Some people have reported that oil pulling is very relaxing, but I find time passes slowly when you are doing something like this, so I will check my emails and surf the internet while I rinse my mouth with oil.

Overall I have had a good experience with oil pulling. Since I have been doing it, my teeth feel cleaner. They also look brighter and whiter, which is great! I have also noticed that my teeth aren’t as sensitive as they were before. I have struggled with sensitive teeth for my entire adult life and nothing I did seemed to help.

In all honesty, I think that the results for oil pulling will be different for everyone. For me, it helped me with my problem. Some people have tried it and haven’t noticed any changes, but I honestly think it’s worth trying before deciding if it works or not.

If you want more information about detoxifying your body and how oil pulling works, there is an interesting book on the subject called “Oil Pulling Therapy” by Dr Bruce Fife. The book is great, but I recommend that you read the amazon comments. There is a lot of positive feedback from people who have tried oil pulling and are happy with the results: everything from reduced sensitivity in their teeth, healthy gums and reduced arthritic pain. It’s worth checking out just to read the amazon comments and hear from people who have been oil pulling for years.