How much attention do you pay to your oral health? We all have a tooth brushing routine of some description, but some of us aren’t looking after our teeth all that well.
According to the Oral Health Foundation, as many as one million UK adults fail to brush their teeth once a day. Ummm, what?
They also revealed that most of the population (70%) brush at least twice a day, however, one in ten (10%) don’t have any set routine.
I’ve had braces glued to the back of my teeth since I had my traintrack braces removed at 15 and refused to wear my removable retainer (thanks, past me!), and am always on a quest to find new ways to deep clean my teeth and gums.
I recently came across ‘oil pulling’, an Ayruvedic method that’s been practised for centuries. What is it? Essentially cleansing your mouth with oil first thing in the morning before you brush your teeth.
Ayurvedic practitioners believe it can kill and remove harmful bacteria from your mouth, freshen your breath and strengthen gums. That’s enough to sell me!
What are the benefits?
One of the main benefits that proponents talk about when it comes to oil pulling is how it can reduce harmful bacteria in your mouth.
This is particularly beneficial when recent research has found that bacteria that lives in your mouth when you have gum disease can cross into your bloodstream, enter the heart, and directly infect vulnerable heart valves.
However, researchers are finding that oil pulling could potentially help with this, as one study looking at 75 adults using either an antibacterial mouthwash or oil pulling daily reduced the number of harmful bacteria found in saliva and plaque after 15 days with both the mouthwash and oil pulling.
So using both could be kryptonite to bacteria.
Studies on the topic are pretty limited, but one from 2017 says that oil pulling can “bring improvement in oral hygiene when practised correctly and regularly.”
It goes on to say that despite this, oil pulling shouldn’t replace normal dental treatments and daily brushing, and isn’t supported by dental associations.
How do you do it?
I started doing it with olive oil instead of the recommended coconut oil — it really doesn’t matter what plant oil you use, as most have antibacterial properties. Coconut, olive and sesame seem to be the most popular.
You put a tablespoon in your mouth and slowly — emphasis on slowly as it starts to hurt your cheeks after a while! — swish it around your mouth, in a similar way you would with normal mouthwash. Make sure to swill it between teeth and around all areas of your mouth.
After about five to 10 minutes, spit it into a food waste bin, or into a tissue and then pop into the bin. Do NOT spit it down the sink as the oil will solidify when it gets cooler and will block your pipes. You’re welcome.
Does it work?
I did it every morning for a week, and combined it with when I was in the shower, because who has 10 minutes to hang around swilling oil in their mouth in the morning?
While I don’t have any scientific data to back up the results, I did just feel like my mouth felt cleaner after a few days.
My breath also felt fresher and I didn’t feel the need to have any mints or chewing gum at any point as a quick freshen-up, which I sometimes have to do.
And if anything I’ve been eating even more garlic than usual this week.
It was simple enough to do and easily blended into my morning routine. I got out of bed, popped a tablespoon of oil in my mouth and hopped out of the shower, spitting it into the bin once I had dried off.
It’s definitely something I’ll be continuing, especially being someone concerned about gum health after years of smoking and cleaning in between my braces.