Maintaining good oral hygiene is critical in order to maintain overall health. Many people only realize the impact that dental health has on the rest of the body when they are reading the posters in the dentist’s waiting room. Typically, we are all very concerned with the whiteness of our smile and the smell of our breath and will strive to achieve oral perfection.
We have come a long way since 3000 BC, when the first form of our common toothbrush was a simple  These days, new techniques and trends are always being publicized both for oral health and aesthetics. Oil pulling was one of the most popular dental trends of 2023. It involves swishing around oil in the mouth to remove bacteria and allegedly “whiten teeth.” Is there any merit to this practice or are we just clutching at straws?
Backstory
Even though the trend has only recently gained popularity, this technique has been around for over . It originated in India as a Ayurvedic practice, an old healing science that aims to make people live long, healthy and balanced lives. Oil pulling as we know it was first popularized in the 90’s by Tummala Koteswara Rao who first tried oil pulling on himself and claimed that it .” Rao also encouraged his wife to try it and much to her delight it “cured her varicose veins on both of her legs,” an affliction that had plagued her for 25 years. Rao stumbled upon this treatment after reading an academic paper that claimed oil pulling was consistently practiced by Siberian shamans to ward off illness and disease. While Rao’s experience may be compelling, anecdotes are not facts. Despite this, people still took Rao’s word and oil pulling became increasingly popular in the wellness industry. At the same time, the benefits of vegetable oils were being highlighted as more studies were being conducted on various cold-pressed oils. As it turns out, sesame oil (and then coconut oil) was found to be the most effective when oil pulling. With this information, it was easier to accept the fact that swishing oil in your mouth for 20 minutes, could cure illness. I guess you can call it a timely rise to fame.
What Are the Claims?
The claimed benefits of oil pulling (OP) extend beyond oral health. According to the , OP is a safe, simple, cheap and gentle do it yourself home remedy, a divine gift to suffering humanity for all diseases. What a bold claim! Conveniently they also have a , along with the numbers of cases that have reported being cured. These diseases include allergies, the common cold and cough, dental caries, gum diseases and infections in the mouth, ear, nose, throat, eyes. It also cures headaches, migraine, tooth pain, neck pain, back pain, allergic sneezing (apparently this isn’t considered an allergy symptom), lip cracking, fevers and irritability. What is common about all these ailments? They are all time dependent. There is a plethora of other factors in our daily lives, including just letting time pass, that could be the actual cure for these problems. OP is even said to be able to “remove toxins from the blood to enhance health”. The organization makes these claims without convincing proof that this practice is the sole contributor to the curing of these illnesses. In terms of the oral effects, there could be some merit here, but first let’s dive deeper into OP.
How Do You Oil Pull?
While the name is pretty self-explanatory, there are actually about how to proceed. The suggestion is swish with about a tablespoon of sesame or coconut oil for around 15-20 minutes. The duration of the swishing changes with the viscosity of the oil, the basic rule of thumb is to swish until the oil becomes milky-white. Once the time is up, spit the oil out, rinse and brush with toothpaste as normal. That last part is critical! Oil pulling does not replace brushing your teeth, it is merely an added component that can potentially improve oral hygiene only if accompanied with traditional dentist recommended practices. This is a common misconception; people replace brushing their teeth with OP and expect to see good results.
The migration towards OP can be partially attributed to the unfounded fear of fluoride. Unfortunately, chemophobia plagues our world, thus when people hear oil pulling promotes good dental hygiene, they throw away their fluorinated toothpastes and start swishing. But we know that natural isn’t always better, especially considering that in this case, we know more about the mechanism of action and efficacy of fluoride than we do about OP. Quite frankly, how it works, if it does, is a mystery.
Mechanism of Action
The supposed mechanism of action of OP is blurry. A study published in the postulated that the process likely occurs in one of three ways.
The first is that the viscosity of the oil prevents bacteria adhering to the teeth, sort of acting like a protective film, thus lowering the chance of illness. This is also the proposed mechanism against plaque formation, hence the film prevents plaque aggregation thus improves oral health.
The second is that the oil used can have antioxidant properties that are beneficial in fighting against bacteria. But how can it remove toxins from the bloodstream given that the oral mucosa prevents the oil from passing through? That would mean its supposed wondrous effects are restricted to the mouth.
The final and perhaps most interesting proposed mechanism is that of saponification. Saponification is the process of making soap but now it’s happening in your mouth! There will be no bar of soap popping out of your mouth, but the process is similar. The first soaps were made by mixing animal fat with lye, an alkaline substance leached from the ashes of a wood fire. Soap works because it is amphipathic, meaning its molecules have both water-fearing (hydrophobic) and water-loving (hydrophilic) properties. The hydrophilic end binds to greasy dirt while the other end is anchored in water allowing grease and grime to literally get washed away. In OP, the “soap-making” results from alkaline substance in the saliva, like bicarbonate reacting with the oil to form a soapy mixture that removes grime and bacteria adhering to teeth.
None, of these theories have been confirmed, and more studies must be done to prove the antibacterial effect of oil pulling, but there is some plausibility.
Effectiveness
Surprisingly, there may be some benefits to oil pulling. Of course, it is not the miracle practice that it is claimed to be, but according to multiple studies it does improve oral hygiene. In the same study published in the , OP (with sesame oil) was found to be as effective as regular mouth wash (chlorhexidine) yet six times more cost effective. It is also readily available in homes and has no outright disadvantages (other than how long the process takes). In a study published in the , OP with sesame or coconut oil was shown to have an antimicrobial effect to a point where after 40-days of the regimen, total oral microbe count was down 20%. Subsequent studies showed a noticeable reduction in dental caries, gingivitis and halitosis (bad breath). Additionally, the anti-fungal property of oils (notably coconut oil) may play a role in eliminating Candida pathogens. The Candida species causes oral thrush, a non-contagious fungal infection that is primarily seen in patients who take medications that alter the microflora of the oral cavity, or in elderly individuals who have reduced salivary secretions. Sesame oil thus reducing the intensity of oral thrush. While this issue isn’t experienced by everyone, it is still an interesting benefit of OP.
So, We’re Not Clutching at Straws?
It turns out we’re not! But we shouldn’t give OP too much credit considering all of the false claims. It won’t solve all of your problems, but could help with a few oral ones, when paired with normal brushing. If you’re curious, try it. As an aspiring scientist, I decided that to do this topic justice, I should definitely give it a try. I took a spoonful of coconut oil and started to swish. I lasted 5 minutes and my mouth got tired! I don’t know how people could do it for 15 minutes straight. Would you be up to the challenge?
Angelina Lapalme is a BSc student majoring in Bio-Organic Chemistry at ş«ąúÂăÎč.Â
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