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.
Fascinating Gabrielle! I have just tried it for the first time. I already use coconut oil in place of body lotion and in cooking, and just today Kris Carr posted about using it in place of shampoo! I’m going to be missing my costco sized tubs here in NZ
Can we combine both- oil pulling in the morning and brushing in the evening, for example?
I think this is what I’ll do, Ewa. I meant to start oil pulling this morning, but I totally forgot! My plan now is to start this weekend when my morning will be less auto-pilot-driven. Then I’ll floss and brush in the evening.
sounds very interesting. i use oil to clean my face already….so I’m going to try it! i’m a “kinda hippy” anyway so i’m always up for alternative ideas. I’m very interested to keep reading the comments. I also already use coconut oil in so many things food and cosmetic-wise, so I really have no excuse!
Thank you for using your blog to introduce some alternative/hippy ideas in a non-judgemental way. The comments have been interesting and I hope everyone tries it. I’ve oil pulled on & off for 2-3 years and just started back up bc of a bad dentist report.
Plaque, receding gums, sensitivity and some spots to watch. All of this reminded me why I started to oil pull in the first place.
Going back to the dentists in a few months, I’ll let you know the outcome.
PS- I think it’s interesting that some people, me included, have a hard time voicing our use of alternative products vs mainstream products.
I have been oil pulling for a month or so. I also brush and floss once a day, just because it drives me nuts not to floss. We just got dental insurance after years and years of not having it. So I haven’t been to the dentist for a long time. I know that I have/had something wrong with a tooth in the back of my mouth for about 6 months. With a month of oil pulling under my belt (or in my mouth) the pain is gone and the bad taste in my mouth is gone. This is my take on oil pulling – it is inexpensive and harmless, why would I not do it? It was difficult at first to do 20 minutes, but I put a timer on my phone and jump in the shower after I have been at the gym and keep swishing. I really would love to hear up dates on how it is working for you Gabrielle (and Ben).
You say to use a “spoonful” – is that a teaspoon, a dessertspoon or a tablespoon? I tried it with a teaspoon and it didn’t seem enough, but my teeth felt cleaner even after 5 minutes.
Sorry if someone already suggested that
I first heard of oil pulling when I went to a workshop for breast thermograms (a non invasive screening for breast health without the use of radiation from mammograms). They recommended oil pulling as a preventative since previous dental work (i.e.toxins from fillings) can drain down into the breasts potentially causing cancers. I have tried it off and on (very hard to do first thing in the morning with kiddos in the house). Recently I have started it again since my last thermogram showed some inflamed lymph nodes under the arms. What is nice about having a thermogram done is inflammation can be detected in other areas of the body as well. They can see on the scan if a thyroid issue exists or if there is drainage to the breasts coming from dental work. I was very impressed and hope it becomes more mainstream. I think it would promote more prevention. What is great about the thermographer, at least the one that I see, is when the thermogram is done they speak to you about which preventative methods to start based on the inflammation that shows up in the body through the thermogram. Definitely worth taking a look, plus it’s noninvasive. Here is an article about it. I apologize for the long comment, I just thought it was important to touch on. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christiane-northrup/the-best-breast-test-the-_b_752503.html
I just had my first thermogram this week! The process was so not-scary and I felt proactive about my health, not like a “patient,” if you know what I mean. Northrup’s article is persuasive. Re your fillings, have you looked into holistic dentistry? Someone else mentioned it in the comments. My friends see one and the first thing he did was to remove their silver fillings. After reading what you learned about the toxic nature of these fillings, I think I’m going to change dentists.
thanks for posting this technique :)! i tried it in the morning and was surprised that the coconut oil didn’t taste “oily” at all, and the surface of my teeth felt great – with a polished feel! i will definitely continue with oil pulling! :)
Very interesting and would love to try it. However I think it will be hard to obtain organic coconut oil where I live a small town in southern patagonia. May have to buy it here in Australia while visiting and stock up. How many jars would one need per year if one swishes or pills once a day with one teaspon? I have had cavities and a broken tooth so I would like to have healthier teeth. My partner who is 39 like me has never had a cavity in his life. It’s the genes, what you eat and how regularly you wash. Also women who have babies and get pregnant and go through hormanal changes through pregnancy, acid in your mouth or changes in saliva during pregnancy is now known to cause teeth problems during pregnancy. I know during my pregnancies with morning sickness vomiting bile the acid on my teeth increased during this time also the gag reflexes didn’t help me when it was time to brush. In argentina there was an old wives tale that calcium is lost during pregnancy but that makes no sense, it seems more probable that changes in ph in the saliva causes enamel to become weaker and may induce bacteria to breed more. I think what may help in oil pulling is activating saliva which also helps decrease bacteria! Thanks!
I just tried it for the first time after reading about it on Pinterest, and I’d seen where someone melted coconut oil, added peppermint oil to it, and then let it solidify part way until it was like a paste and made “coconut oil drops” with them for oil pulling. That might help with the minty feeling he’s missing!
I’m so intrigued! I read your post yesterday and have oil pulled twice already. I do have a habit of brushing my teeth anytime before I leave the house – whether it’s for playgroup or a night on the town. So I wonder how it factors into situations like that? D
Unfortunately, Ayurveda and the modern idea of what they did is not oil pulling. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Just as you are writing an article on Oil Pulling yet have no authority or education in it, this is all there is acroos the web. Misinformation spreads like wildfire. People make lots of mobney off of it. If you wana know real Kavala which is what Ayurveda called it check out this website.
http://trueayurveda.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/oil-pulling-an-ancient-ayurvedic-treatment/
Thank you for posting this.
I’ve recently started oil pulling, however all the advice and research I’ve seen has said that it is to be done in addition to teeth brushing, not as a replacement. Some people even stress the importance of brushing immediately after.
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Yikes, Gabrielle! I tried it this morning and got to 12 minutes of swishing when I felt like I was about to be sick. That was the end of that. I’ve read about the possible benefits of oil-pulling before and always thought it was interesting, but I guess this won’t work for me. Oh well!
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I have been oil pulling for six months or so now, I love it! I only do it for 5 minutes though and brush my teeth afterwards and still feel all the benefits you mention. I am also amazed that I haven’t had a cold yet this winter (I’m in the UK), with two young children around I would have normally had a couple of colds by now. I started after reading it can help with gum problems as I had gum soreness and teeth sensitivity, both have gone completely. So pleased I discovered it!
I did the oil pulling again this morning for 20 minutes. I started with 1 teaspoon of coconut oil. I spit it out after 10 minutes and rinsed mouth out and then did it again with only 1/2 teaspoon. I spit it out and lightly brushed my teeth. Mouth feels very clean.
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Ok, oil’s in right now – fingers crossed I can last the whole 20 minutes!
I have to use a steroid inhaler twice a day. I rinse very well and drink a couple ounces of keifer milk each time but my mouth and tounge started to burn and sting like I might be coming down with thrush. I decided to try oil pulling starting yesterday. Yesterday I only managed a few minutes and today a few minutes longer. My mouth felt clean when I was finished and my tounge has stopped burning.
I’m like your kids. I had a lot of cavities growing up, no matter what I did. Finally when I was maybe 19 my dentist recommended CariFree. I’ve used the treatment rinse, the maintenance rinse, and just last visit, he started me on the toothpaste. I’ve only had a few cavities since then (6 years ago). To be able to go back to back to back dentist visits without a cavity was a miracle to me. I am so grateful to him. I totally trust you on the oil pulling but wonder how it would fit into my routine. I’m a little scared to stop brushing and flossing. Maybe I’ll do both for a while.
How are you people doing this for 20 minutes at a time? I tried it and my face muscles were sore after 3 minutes!
I just started oil pulling and found that if I mix a drop of peppermint essential oil into the coconut I don’t gag and I get the minty fresh feeling afterward…
I am on Day 8 of oil pulling! I ran across it in an article about coconut oil, read a TON on a blog called Wellness Mama http://wellnessmama.com/7866/oil-pulling-for-oral-health/ I still brush, with a VERY gentle brush, and floss in the evenings. So far so good! I am due for a cleaning/check-up in a couple of months and my curiosity about my hygienist’s feedback is killin’ me.
I spent $4,000 at the dentist last year. I can ill afford to keep that up.
I ran into the kitchen as soon as I read this! Natural remedies have always facinated me. My husband looked at me like I was crazy when I first poured the olive oil in my mouth so much that I almost spewed from laughing at his face! I’m swishing right now… had to pinch my lips together because my cheeks were getting tired, though I may have used too much…. but I’ve made it the full 20! And now to spit!
….weeeiiirrrdddd. But not bad. :) My lips feel wonderful! Definitely going to try this as I have an awful time even remembering to brush my teeth and I hate flossing.
What a wonderful and enlightened forum! I have been oil pulling for 6 months due to auto-immune issues. I was told that in combination with synbiotics that oil pulling affected gut bacteria and could help me fight infections. Though my results are anecdotal, I had an infection every 6 weeks or so prior to oil-pulling (with synbiotic supplements) and I’ve had no infections in these 6 months. Aside from my sparkly mouth, the other huge benefit is in how clear my head is regarding sinuses. I swim 90 minutes after my oil-pulling and my head and breathing have never been deeper and clearer in my life. Though this regimen might not be everyone’s cup o’ tea, I am thrilled and see this as a wonderful blessing in my life.
i’m gonna do this! it seems now matter what i try and use, i always don’t like the taste in my mouth. first time down…many more to go. i found it easy to do.
I am a dental hygienist and I have a few thoughts. Many have referenced the PubMed article to back up their oil pulling testimonies. The article states, “Oil pulling can be used as an effective preventive adjunct in maintaining and improving oral health.” The key word being ADJUNCT. This is defined as, “a thing added to something else as a supplementary rather than an essential part.” It was comparing the oil to Chlorhexidine, which is a very effective prescription mouth wash I prescribe everyday to patients with gum disease and inflammation. If they want to forego the pharmacy and oil pull instead? Be my guest. But I’m certainly not giving them a mouth wash to replace brushing and flossing. Plaque forms one microscopic layer at a time. If it’s not removed, it calcifies and hardens into tartar. Once it’s Tatar, you can no longer remove it with your toothbrush, and that’s why cleanings are recommended every 3-6 months. Everyone builds up Tatar within a 6 month period, and the bacteria in the plaque and Tatar is what causes gum disease. Swishing with anything, Listerine, chlorhexidine, coconut oil, does not effectively remove plaque. In fact, Listerine got in trouble years ago for claiming it was as effective as flossing. My point is, even if it as effective as chlorhexidine, chlorhexidine alone, is still ineffective. You might kill the surface bacteria that is most superficial on the plaque deposit, bit it’s the harmful anaerobic bacteria deper down that is the moat destructive and causes gum disease and bone loss.
WOW Gabrielle! This is the rabbit hole of blog posts! haha! I keep coconut oil in my bathroom for my face and body, and NEVER though to suck on it! LOL I’m going to try it right now!
I am a bit late with my comment, but maybe someone will read it anyhow. I live in Germany (so I am sorry if my English is not so perfect) and I do oil pulling since about seven years. I started when a friend came back from an ayurvedic-treatment in Southern India and shared her experience with me. It isn´t something very well known here, but I think it is becoming more popular – probably as in the USA.
Before establishing it into my life I consulted a holistic doctor here in my hometown about it, and he encouraged me to start it. I don´t do it every day, only when I find the time, which is about 2-4 mornings per week. I use organic sesame oil and when the bottle is empty I even use olive oil.
There are some things I do differently than you seem to: I always start with a cleaning of my tongue. For this I use a wooden spoon to scrape off the whitish layer. I clean my tongue like this every day, also when I don´t follow it by the oil procedure.
And I don´t pull oil instead of brushing my teeth, but additionally. At night I always brush with a natural toothpaste (no fluorides etc), and the days when I pull oil I chew some fresh mint leaves afterwards. When I don’t pull oil in the morning I brush with the organic toothpaste. I also floss 2-3x a week at night, as my dentist advised me to keep it up. I have fairly good teeth (I am 44 and have 5 fillings, they all happened between my 23rd and my 35 birthday). Obviously I don´t know how good my teeth would be if I would not pull oil.
There is one alarming thing that I stumbled over just now when I just googled “oil pulling” to see how many german articles I would find nowadays: If you have amalgam fillings (I have three) there seem to be some issues with the oil pulling-procedure. I must remember to ask my dentist and holistic GP about this next time I visit.
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It is good to know that you got a lot of benefits from oil pulling. I have heard good things about it and I am curious to try it for my teeth. But I cannot imagine the oiliness in my mouth for twenty minutes so I guess I will check out which oil is suitable for my teeth.
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I am late to the party, here, but I am curious now, too. I wish I had heard of this while I was having babies. For the full 9 months of pregnancy, brushing my teeth made me throw up. It was putting that toothbrush in the back of my mouth to get my molars. You can imagine the cycle… brush teeth, throw up, have to brush teeth again…. I don’t know if the oil would have made me gag (quite probable, actually) but it would certainly have been something to try.
You asked if we’ve ever tried something on a whim and then stuck with it. Seven years ago I got rid of my microwave because I hated the counter space it took up. Had to leave itcon the porch for 6 months as my husband was skeptical. 7 years and 4 kids later and I couldn’t imagine cooking with a microwave. Dont miss it one bit! Amazing how my kids prefer their leftovers cold if you ask them. And you can still cook microwave meals you just have to get a little creative with an oven or a pot and pan!
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Can I ask (because I am curious) are you still oil-pulling and have you been all this time? Did you have any dental issues as a result?
I’ve been trying this. I’m a scientist in the health sector and I’m a deep skeptic about most alternative remedies. But, from personal experience, I found this one was extremely effective.
I’m not sure whether oil pulling works because of the oil, or because of the swishing ( i.e. I’m not 100% sold on it all being down to the properties of the coconut oil…and I wouldn’t be surprised if you got the same effect with water…). But, since starting it, there has been notable differences for me in terms of plaque, breath, and the whiteness of my teeth (which were badly stained). And the taste of the coconut oil leaves a pleasant taste in your mouth compared with plain water.
Yes, its true that many of the “scientific explanations” you read on websites as to why oil pulling works are implausible at best, and bogus at worst. However, the way I see it: it can’t hurt you. It might help you in quite a dramatic way. Its cheap and easy to do. Does it matter why it works?
Hi Checking in with everyone I’ve been doing this for almost a month. Don’t see whiter teeth. I like the feel of my teeth and mouth.
How’s anyone else doing?
Ive been curious about oil pulling for a long time… so I tried it juat now, after reading this, with my barleans virgin organic coconut oil. I lasted about four minutes lol. Do you have any tips for going longer? Its so hard to resist the swallow reflex for me!
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I tried this three times last night after reading about it. I couldn’t handle the wad of coconut oil in my mouth (totally didn’t think I’d have an issue with it, but I surely did). So, then I tried a little less and melted. I lasted about a minute. I gave it one more shot melted. I lasted a minute. I didn’t mind the oil in my mouth, but I felt like it was swishing a ton of saliva around after a minute. I couldn’t imagine swishing that much saliva around for 20 minutes! I don’t want to give up on the idea, but that was a lot of fluid in my mouth.
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I have Hypothyroidism and have to take medication(Synthroid) in the morning. Once taken you must wait at LEAST 30 minutes to eat or drink anything. I’m interested in trying Oil Pulling but wonder if I could do it in that same amount of time since you don’t actually swallow the oil or would I have to set an additional 20 minutes aside. Hmmm…
I sort of started this a few days ago. I really want to do it at night, my mornings vary to the point of some mornings I have to be at work @4:30A no time to swish @4A :( and I haven’t mastered the 20 mins. I won’t give up though & may add a drop of peppermint oil. I already believe it’ll work just have to master it.
Other “hippie” things I do: no shampoo, just baking soda and kombucha tea
Drink peppermint tea for the minty freshness
I’ve been pulling with coconut oil for about 6 months now and have seen lots of changes for the better in my oral and digestive health. Also have gone from having acne to clear smooth skin (I also apply it directly to my face). The most comprehensive website I’ve found on the subject of oil pulling is http://www.oilpulling.com …you will see the science behind it and also find very helpful suggestions and methods to make it easier to tolerate and get used to if you have difficulty pulling for the full 20 minutes. In the beginning it felt weird, but the longer I do it the less I would want to give it up. I could go on for ages about all the good things involved, but the website says it all! To anyone who has doubts, I say do yourself a BIG favor and try it with an open mind.