Is Oil-Pulling Your Best Choice for Dental Health?
Should you try oil-pulling for your dental health? Our expert weighs in.
With endorsements coming from celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, you might find it tempting to try oil-pulling – an Indian folk practice that has gained lots of attention in homeopathic circles in recent years.
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Oil-pulling is swishing a teaspoon of oil in your mouth for 20 minutes every day, then spitting it out. The traditional oil to use is sesame. But many use coconut oil.
Thousands of YouTube videos extol its purported health benefits. A Google news search brings up thousands of stories – many written very recently.
But the evidence-based bottom line on oil-pulling is this:
For centuries, people used this practice every day to prevent tooth decay, bad breath, bleeding gums, throat dryness and cracked lips.
The more enthusiastic proponents of oil-pulling claim it cures everything from a hangover to diabetes or acne.
There is some evidence that oil-pulling, particularly with coconut oil, could inhibit plaque formation, says wellness and preventative medicine specialist Sandra Darling, DO.
Again, it’s important to restate that oil-pulling should not take the place of good, consistent dental hygiene, Dr. Darling says. That means brushing twice a day for two minutes and flossing once daily.
Oil-pulling is not going to whiten your teeth, clear your sinuses or cure your diabetes, despite what proponents say.
“There is no research to corroborate all of these other health claims,” Dr. Darling says.
“You can make the stretch that oral health can support systemic health – that there are benefits downstream,” she says.
“But to date there is no scientific research that oil-pulling is a direct mechanism of action for these other conditions. And no current evidence suggests that improving oral hygiene alone will improve diabetes or other chronic conditions.”