Coconut oil pulling: Does it work?

Heard of oil pulling but not sure what it is? Well, it’s a dental technique that involves coconut oil.

The oils we ‘pull’ for teeth purposes tend to be more of the coconut variety or similar.

But it’s that word ‘pulling’. What does it mean? It basically means ‘squishing’ or ‘swishing’ liquid much like you’d do with a mouthwash.

You guzzle a little coconut oil, swoosh it around your mouth and then, you spit it out.

Does oil pulling whiten teeth?

Sorry to be negative, but no. All juries are well and truly out on oil pulling and will remain so until research is done on the whole oil pulling fad further.

Because there are also claims that oil pulling/squishing doesn’t just whiten teeth, it improves gum health and removes plaque. None of this has yet been substantiated.

Not sure which are the effective ways for teeth whitening and which don't actually work? Read our previous blog on Teeth Whitening: What You Need to Know.

Is oil pulling good for whitening teeth?

As it stands, there’s not enough scientific evidence to prove that oil pulling whitens teeth. So we should all very careful about misleading, fallacious and potentially harmful fads –and not trust any of these things to give us sparkling teeth.

Baking soda works a little bit if used in moderation - it can be bad for our gums if used too much.

Over-the-counter whitening products also work, but because they don’t (and can’t) contain the concentrations of bleach dentists use, they’re only a mildly effective solution as well.

Dentists; they’re your best bet for really effective teeth whitening and probably always will be. For a start, they know what they’re doing. Just make sure you shop around. Not all dentists are created equal when it comes to fees and some are happy to charge far more than the job’s worth; twice as much as the job’s worth in some cases.

Meantime, if you want to try oil pulling, go ahead. Some swear by its whitening abilities; most curse it for its apparent lack of them.

So yet another jury will, for now, remain undecided in its verdict on yet another modern day fad.

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