Oil Pulling: Effective Mouthwash but without the Side Effects
Oil pulling is a misleading term since there is no actual 'pulling' action involved. “Pseudoscience” or “quackery” are some of the words critics assign to oil pulling. While it should not replace the brushing of teeth, a growing number of scientists agree that this low-cost intervention to gum diseases and promoter of overall well-being has oral health benefits.
Dating back 3,000 to 5,000 years, oil pulling comes from the Indian medical tradition of Ayurveda. It is a technique by which a certain type of oil is swished around in the mouth cavity for a certain amount of time, then the oil is spat out. Oil pulling is followed by other oral hygiene techniques such as the brushing of teeth, flossing, and scraping of the tongue.
Advocates of oil pulling swear by its effectiveness. Books such as “Oil Pulling Therapy,” by naturopathic physician Bruce Fife, have been filled with the technique’s praises, including claims that it relieves “asthma, diabetes, arthritis, migraine headaches, or any chronic illness.”
Dating back 3,000 to 5,000 years, oil pulling comes from the Indian medical tradition of Ayurveda. It is a technique by which a certain type of oil is swished around in the mouth cavity for a certain amount of time, then the oil is spat out. Oil pulling is followed by other oral hygiene techniques such as the brushing of teeth, flossing, and scraping of the tongue.
Advocates of oil pulling swear by its effectiveness. Books such as “Oil Pulling Therapy,” by naturopathic physician Bruce Fife, have been filled with the technique’s praises, including claims that it relieves “asthma, diabetes, arthritis, migraine headaches, or any chronic illness.”
There Is More to Oral Health
Oil pulling is a fascinating topic when not only approaching it from the angle of oral health but also understanding the many mechanisms taking place unnoticed in the mouth.More than 700 microorganisms—bacteria and fungi, both good and bad—call the mouth home. The mouth is also the gateway to the digestive system, where the first steps of digestion and assimilation of nutrients occur.
Unfortunately, the homeostatic environment of the mouth is weak and easily disturbed by outside influences, such as the use of tobacco, environmental stimuli, and certain medications.
The mouth is supposed to be moist. Dry mouth can lead to germ accumulation, bad breath, tooth decay, fungal infections, and gum disease. Salivary secretion is crucial to speech formation and gut microbiota and is “essential for proper protection and functioning of the body as a whole,” according to a Swedish review article published in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation.
Hence, oral health affects more than the mouth.
Oral Health’s Links to Other Diseases
The interdependence of bodily systems is the premise for oral health’s relationship to overall well-being. Compromised oral health can lead to several other diseases.Mental Health
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology investigated the link between gum disease and depression and anxiety. They did so by analyzing metadata, information drawn from 40 outside studies.The results clearly showed a correlation between periodontal disease and emotional disorders. Twelve of the studies showed a significant association with anxiety. Eighteen studies indicated that patients with gum disease had increased depression.
A 2022 review article published in Periodontology 2000 suggests that the oral microbiome is connected to the brain and relates to mental health disorders via four direct causal mechanisms, “microbial and metabolite escape, neuroinflammation, central nervous system signaling, and response to neurohormones.”
This common denominator in all of them is inflammation.
Oral pathogens enter the brain via the bloodstream and an impaired blood-brain barrier, causing stress and mental health disorders to the extent of Alzheimer’s, further confirming the oral-brain axis.
Pneumonia
Oral hygiene was also the topic of a study that included 39 patients with pneumonia. Researchers found that lack of oral care was linked to an increase of obligate anaerobes (microorganisms that grow or survive only in environments without oxygen) in the lungs of these patients.Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease
As a chronic inflammatory disease, periodontitis (inflammation of the gums) is connected to an “increased myocardial infarction risk,” according to a review published in the International Journal of Molecular Science.The review found correlations between periodontal disease and stroke, heart failure, endothelial dysfunction, peripheral artery disease, and diabetes, and it urges dentists and clinicians to increase their awareness about these links and the need for increased oral hygiene.
A Tool to Maintain Oral Hygiene
After establishing the importance of oral hygiene, the question is whether the oil pulling can help support the many mechanisms leading to oral health.A study published in the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine says yes, and it illustrates that oil pulling:
- Prevents dental caries
- Improves oral hygiene
- Decreases oral microbial count
- Inhibits adhesion of plaque and oral surfaces
- Reduces gingivitis and halitosis
- Strengthens oral cavity muscles and jaws
- Whitens teeth
- Improves general health
Cost-Effective Oral Intervention
Oil pulling is a low-cost way of increasing one’s oral hygiene, which includes preventing “teeth decay, oral malodor, bleeding gums, dryness of throat and cracked lips, and ... strengthening the teeth, gums, and jaws,” according to Indian folk tradition and a randomized, controlled, triple-blind study published in the Journal of the Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry.Twenty adolescent boys partook in the study. Divided into two random groups, one swished chlorhexidine mouthwash for 10 minutes each morning before brushing their teeth, while the other did oil pulling with sesame oil. Researchers collected plaque and saliva samples four times during the two-week duration.
Both groups displayed a reduction of Streptococcus mutans, which significantly contributes to tooth decay. Although the plaque count was lowered more quickly in the chlorhexidine control group, the study group caught up. In the end, the study group that oil pulled experienced an even greater reduction of plaque (P=0.008 versus P=0.0005).
The scientists concluded that oil pulling is “an effective preventive adjunct in maintaining and improving oral health.”
A Comparison With Chlorhexidine
A 2022 review published in International Dental Journal found 13 adverse effects of chlorhexidine mouthwash. These side effects surfaced “even at low concentrations between 0.06 [percent] and 0.2 [percent] within the therapeutic range” and were listed as “taste alteration, numbness in mouth and tongue, pain in mouth and tongue, xerostomia [oral dryness], and subjective discolouration.”Such side effects have been reported on by The Epoch Times in the articles “Is Mouthwash Ruining Our Health?” and “Mouthwash Contains Chemicals Tied to Diabetes.”
A randomized crossover clinical trial compared the effects of oil pulling, in this case with coconut oil, with those of chlorhexidine gluconate.
The trial found “similar plaque inhibition” qualities. The oil resulted in less staining of the teeth and performed similarly to the dental mouthwash on the inhibition of plaque regrowth. Forty-two patients between the ages of 18 and 52 took part in this trial. According to the study, oil pulling had the following advantages:
- Natural
- No side effects
- No bacterial resistance
- Cost-effective
- No prescription needed
- Not contradicted for pregnancy
- Not contraindicated in other diseases
Critics Debunked
The American Dental Association does not endorse oil-pulling. According to the association, “there are no reliable scientific studies to show that oil pulling reduces cavities, whitens teeth or improves oral health and well-being.” The British Dental Journal also comments on the lack of scientific research in a 2018 article.Certainly, many dentists have either never heard of the technique or are very outspoken against it. Dr. Charles Payet is one of them. He runs his dental practice in South Carolina and speaks frankly against oil pulling in an article on his website.
“The current fad of ‘Oil Pulling’ is certainly one of the biggest examples of snake oil holistic mumbo-jumbo quackery to grace the surface of our planet,” Payet writes in his blog post. He claims that oil pulling simply cannot work “because it’s just fat.”
Payet refers to a website called “Science-based Medicine,” which also wrote an article about oil pulling. It does list a couple of studies that are in favor of the technique, but it states that there simply is not enough research to obtain proof of its efficacy.
The “just fat” claim was debunked by a randomized control trial undertaken among 40 dental students and published in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research.
The scientists stated: “Coconut oil contains 92 [percent] saturated acids, approximately 50 [percent] of which is lauric acid. Lauric acid has proven antibacterial and antifungal effects. Evidence showed that coconut oil has significant antimicrobial activity against Escherichia vulneris, Enterobacter spp., Helicobacter pylori, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida spp., including C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, C. stellatoidea and C. krusei.”
Furthermore, coconut oil showed efficacy against other strains (S. mutans and C. albicans) in a biofilm model published in Semantic Scholar, whose conclusion was simply that “oil pulling is effective in controlling plaque levels.”
Oil Pulling–4 Easy Steps
1. Use approximately 1 tablespoon (or 10ml) of your preferred oil (such as sesame, sunflower seed, or coconut).2. Swish the oil in your mouth and between your teeth for about 15 to 20 minutes first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. You will notice a change in the oil’s viscosity, which will turn increasingly watery and milky white.
3. Follow the oil pulling by a thorough rinse with water and conventional teeth brushing, flossing, or use of a tongue scraper.
Note: Discard your oil either in a garbage can or by flushing it down the toilet. This will prevent any potential oil-related clogging issues in your drain.
Oils for Various Tastes and Conditions
A variety of oils can be used for oil pulling. The most common ones are:- Sesame seed oil, which is the traditional oil used in Ayurveda
- Coconut oil—a pilot study notes a significant decrease in plaque and plaque-induced gingivitis
- Sunflower seed oil—a pilot study showed that oil pulling with sunflower seed oil can “reduce the overall microbial burden” in the mouth.
- Olive oil
- Palm oil
- Rice bran oil—a comparative interventional study indicated its superiority in treating halitosis (bad breath).
Possible Side Effects
Side effects and contraindications of oil pulling are few. However, there are a couple of things to watch out for.- Do not ingest the swished oil. Swallowing oil can lead to upset stomach.
- Another more serious but rare side effect could happen if small particles of the oil are inhaled. This is called lipoid pneumonia. An article about a possible connection between the two has been published in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.
- Children under the age of 5 should not perform oil pulling.
Comments
Post a Comment