Oil Pulling for Dental Health

In my quest to naturally improve my dental health, I learned about the oil pulling method. Basically, it's like an all-natural detoxifying mouthwash, with extra benefits regular mouthwashes don't provide. It's called the oil pulling method because the oil pulls toxins out of your mouth. The only things it requires is unrefined vegetable oil and 20 minutes of your time (which does seem like a lot but you can do other things during this time). And it isn't some newfangled crunchy fad either, it's an ancient Ayurvedic practice, with studies to back up its effectiveness. (Here's one 2008 study if you'd like to check it out.)

As a Muslim, finding a good mouthwash is very hard. Even when I can find a good alcohol-free mouthwash, I need to make sure it doesn't have glycerin in it. Glycerin is often obtained from animals, and I stay away from anything that possibly was obtained from a pork source.

Some of the possible benefits to your mouth are: whitening of the teeth, reduced plaque, strengthening of gums, and less bad breath. There are also possible benefits for the rest of your body as well, since dental health plays a big part of your overall well-being: migraine relief, reduced eczema, and better kidney function. You can read more about the possible benefits here.

So I tried it the first time with extra virgin coconut oil. During my research, a lot of people said they felt an initial gag-reflex when starting, but I didn't. I did feel a little weird though. I only did it for about 10 minutes, but my teeth felt good after that. The second time, I used extra virgin olive oil and did it for the full 20 minutes. Afterwards, you need to brush, so I brushed with my homemade remineralizing toothpaste. I hope to continue this regimen for at least a two week trial to see if and how it benefits my teeth. I'll report back on the results then!