More and more modern medicine is looking towards ancient practices to find new ways to combat ever mutating pathogens. The field of dentistry is no different. The Ayurvedic benefits of oral hygiene practices, such as oil pulling, have been documented and known for thousands of years, by countries in the Eastern part of the world. Oil pulling, and Ayurveda for that matter, are still relatively new practices and concepts for the Western world, however, this and other traditional types of medicinal practices are becoming more accepted and sought after as faith in modern medicine declines.
But what is oil pulling? And how is it done?
Oil pulling is the use of oils as an oral hygiene aide by swishing or "pulling" the oil throughout the mouth and teeth. It is best done with cold pressed oils by taking approximately 1 tablespoon of oil and swishing through the mouth for 10-20 minutes. While oil pulling is not a cure-all and an end to dental visits, it is a highly beneficial recommended supplemental practice.
Here we have listed few benefits of the oil pulling and 6 reasons you may want to add it to your daily hygiene regimen.
Oil pulling is said to help remove toxins, like heavy metals, from the body through the mouth via saliva secretions. "Oil pulling activates salivary enzymes which absorb toxins such as chemical toxins, bacterial toxins, and environmental toxins from the blood and removes them from the body through the tongue."
Oil pulling destroys the harmful bacterium found in the mouth cavity by generating antioxidants that will damage their cell wall and by trapping the bacteria. The oil attracts the lipid membrane of the bacteria causing them to get stuck or 'pulled' into the oil.
The plaque building bacteria responsible for dental diseases like periodontitis and gingivitis are removed from the oral cavity and prevented from aggregation through the coating action of the oil on the teeth.
Through the removal of these plaque bacteria the teeth are mad whiter, the gums are made pinker, and the breath becomes fresher.
With regular practice oil pulling helps relieve bleeding gums, dry mouth, oral candidiasis, tooth pain, and other oral ailments.
Now that we know the benefits of oil pulling, we turn the conversation to which oils to use for oil pulling. A variety of oils, such as sesame and almond, can be used for oil pulling but we will discuss one of the more potent ones here, being coconut oil.
Coconut oil possesses additional cleaning action due to its high saponification index. Coconut oil has documented antimicrobial activity and is effective against some of both the Streptococcus and Candida strains. Coconut oil also posseses anti-septic properties and does not cause adverse effects such as staining and altered taste like some mouthwash.
Now that we have talked about oil pulling have you tried it or will you try it?
For more information regarding the studies of this practice visit the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine site article: Oil Pulling for Oral Hygiene A Review
Comments