Impressive Health Benefits of Oil Pulling

Hello, I am an extremely healthy 39 year old (I'm an acupuncturist and herbalist) with terrible gum recession (but no redness, swelling, or inflammation, and perfect hygiene). I had braces as a teenager, and my recession started shortly after. A month ago, I found out I had two deep pockets (one 7mm and one 8mm) and the periodontist scheduled me for surgery on May 24th. I'm trying to close the pockets and reverse the recession in order to avoid surgery and heal my gums. So, I started oil pulling (just under one month ago). 20 minutes twice per day. I also started brushing and flossing after each meal, instead of flossing only once per day and brushing 2-3 times per day.

After week 1, I started having some tooth pain, deep in the roots. After week 2, that pain got more severe. By week 3, I started feeling very upset... That something is wrong... I should not have 24/7 tooth pain for two weeks! I had never had that kind of tooth pain before. So I stopped oil pulling and went back to flossing only once per day and brushing twice per day (I am using Ecodent natural tooth powder), thinking maybe I was over-treating.

The pain is unrelentless. Although I have not oil pulled for 3 days, my teeth still hurt (the upper and lower front teeth). They have hurt pretty much constantly for two and a half weeks. Also, it seems like my recession is worse. This has me extremely upset, and depressed for the first time in my life.

Can you help explain what is happening? It feels that oil pulling has made my condition worse and caused unrelentless pain that I never had before.

By the way, I have one amalgam filling in a molar towards the back and one non-amalgam filling in a molar on the other side (I have had two cavities in my lifetime).

Thanks in advance for your insights.

Regarding brushing your teeth after OP. I have read on this site that you must brush your teeth after in order to rinse out and get rid of the toxins/bacteria. Is this not true? Help I'm so confused.

Hi Polly, I should have "replied" to those who posted the emphasis but did not... I sometimes awaken with extreme hunger. At two in the morning I am so hungry I don't feel like OP for twenty minutes before I eat! If you have such a thirst, your acceptable table salt may be the problem. The flowing/anti-caking agent contributes to more ailments than is recognized and could be in other spices. I use a sea salt that is labeled "real" because it does not contain those agents. I thought I might be eaten up with parasites or have a tapeworm but I eat garlic and use ACV that I had read are remedies to those problems. I'm sixty-five and try to keep my weight at a hundred.

That is a very good question because when I was pulling on an empty stomach I was waking with a thirst (I am 62 and I follow a very healthy lifestyle) So I started drinking filtered water and camomile tea (which I have overnight by my bed) THEN oil pulling and its still very effective!

Why is it emphasized to OP on an empty stomach? I had done it awhile after I ate and didn't seem to have any problem. Could I be causing harm without being aware of it?

My first attempt at oil pulling did not go as well. I really had to do some research to find ways around the need to swallow during the pulling, and how to make the whole process less disgusting. I am going to attempt again this evening---

I used to work at a healthfood store, and we had many customers who purchased hemp oil for oil pulling... I am new to the practice of oil pulling and have never tried this oil myself. Has anyone out there tried it? How did it work for you?

One that I have tried that I did not see listed anywhere is pumpkin seed oil... It is one of my favorites. It tastes nicer that others and is a pleasing consistancy to start with. I do not know if it has anything special that it is good for... But it seems to have the same positive effects overall as seseme or sunflower oil. I do not like the taste of seseme or the consistancy of sunflower. If anyone else has used pumkin seed oil too and has any more info on the details of its possible benefits please let me know.

Hi, I have been using a teaspoon of clarified butter/ghee to do OP. I can only keep it in for upto 5 minutes because by then there is too much saliva and if I do it any longer I will end up swalloing it. Is my choice of fat ok?

Castor Oil? Seriously? I have been a castor oil user for years, but only externally. The castor bean is poisonous, I used to use castor bean plants around my garden to repel gophers and moles until they were the accidental cause of death of a neighbors puppy... After reading this I decided to check my bottle in the cabinet and it clearly says on it for external use only... I'm not sure, but it is in the nightshade family isnt it?

Since your post from 2008, did you continue with the oil pulling and has your blood pressure changed? Having similar issues... Thank you

Research indicates that Sesame and Sunflower oils are the best two for OP. I also read that Sesame Sesame seed oil is absorbed quickly and penetrates through the tissues to the very marrow of the bone. It is said to enter into the blood stream through the capillaries and circulates. The liver does not sweep sesame seed oil molecules from the blood, accepting those molecules as friendly. As I am wanting healing for a chronic form of leukemia this circulation to the bone marrow is potentially beneficial. The challenge is this: When I OP with Sunflower oil for 20 minutes it turns white but not when I OP with Sesame oil. I therefore tried a 50/50 blend of Sunflower/Sesame oils for 20 minutes and it DID turn white. My question: Is there benefits from blending the two oils? Will I get the benefits to my bone marrow from the Sesame oil if it is blended with Sunflower oil? Are there dangers in blending these two particular oils or things I should be aware of? Thanks in advance :-)

Here in Toronto there is a new store called Healthy Planet; they sell a great variety of natural and organic products, their prices are quite reasonably and I saw products that I have heard in my life!!!

You may want to give them a call: http://www.healthyplanetcanada.com

I wanted to comment that the usage of the word "gargle" on your Oil Pulling page is a tad alarming given the warning NOT to gargle in the throat near the end of the instructions. It seems Dr. Karasch used it as well. I have never heard or used the word "gargle" unless it meant using the throat, so it is a tad misleading for the unsuspecting or the casual reader. Perhaps the alert could be placed at the beginning of the article to clarify the usage of the word and for safety's sake. Thank you for your time.

I had this once when I used sunflower oil and when I switched to virgin coconut oil, I have not had this problem again. I will say, when I eat sunflower seeds, I get a rash around my mouth. I think perhaps that I may be allergic to sunflower seed and oil. If I were you, once my mouth healed, I would go with testing one oil at a time until I found one that did not cause blisters. Many recommend starting with sesame.

I tried oil pulling for the first time this morning using Meditteranean blend oil, which contains soya, sunflower and extra virgin olive oil. I did this before eating and drinking anything. I swished for 20 mins. , then rinsed with warm water, brushed my teeth and drank three glasses of water. It is now evening and I now have blisters in my mouth. Never had them before. Has this happened to someone else? Am I swishing too long, using wrong oil?? What can I do to avoid getting blisters. Thank you!!

Is it okay if I include Coconut Oil in the morning & Sunflower oil in the evening in my daily oil pulling regimen?

@Caitlin - What type oil do you pull with - coconut? Thanks.

Hey All! Been awhile. Here's a suggestion! As far as getting rid of the oil, make a point of keeping the plastic bags from the grocery store to spit the residue into after oil pulling. I knot the bag closed and toss into a trash container. This keeps the oil out of the pipes and the bagged oil avoids smelling up your container as it would if spat directly into it.

As far as oil-pulling goes, it is fantastic. I had stopped for a while and restarted. I must say, what a differance only 5 days has made! The grayish palor and lines on my face, forehead, and under-eyes are disappearing again. My face and body feel smoother and look less tired. Also, my bones don't crick when I roll out of bed each moring. My tongue is turning a beautiful shade of pink. Also, the oil-pulling's natural jaw exercise is refining and prominating my Indian cheekbones. The oil-pulling soothes my tummy and I'm also happier, calmer, and sleeping well after 2 months of insomnia. At the same time as oil pulling, I've up my water intake and I believe that is helping a lot, as well. As water drinking is hard for me for some reason, I went and purchased an extra large, tall beer mug from Walmt which I fill to the brim with filtered water and 1 TBLsp of ACV. I drink this 3 times a day, sipping with a straw. The jug is so large, that I barely taste the ACV. But, it is doing wonders for regulating my bowels and moistening my skin which usually stays on the dry side (DUH!).

The only thing I have seen regarding blood type and things that are good and bad depending on it are a series of books by Peter J. D'Adamo, the first of which is titled Eat Right For Your Type. The diet information is invaluable to me. Perhaps the oils that are good for your diet/blood type are the same as for oil pulling.

Canola is a modified version of rape. I don't know if it was done by cross breeding or by GMO but it was done to reduce the acidity of the oil as the acidic rapeseed oil was considered to be unhealthy. I use grape seed oil for all my cooking as it has zero cholesterol. I am 54 and have "the blood pressure of a healthy 150 pound 18 year old" at 330 lbs.. Has anyone used grape seed oil for oil pulling?

I am interested in starting oil pulling but I take hyperthyroid medication daily. Is it possible to do this without affecting my medication? Thanks

Anytime I've done oil pulling and later feel achey, tired or headache, I knew that was a healing crisis or a detox time when lots of junk is pulled out from your organs and tissue. Drink A LOT of water and help keep your kidneys flushed and you'll recover soon. Weekends are a good time to hit it hard. Try it 2 or 3 times a day... Always 2 hours after a meal or first thing in morning. Take advantage of weekend timing and sleep a lot and DRINK WATER.

Cheers, Francine

Do not brush your teeth after Oil Pulling!!!!!! If you just use the Oil and then rinse your mouth after you will not have bad breath, if you really need to brush do so before Oil Pulling. Try using Sesame as it is the most highly recommended and best tasting(to me) my breath is great the following morning after OP the night before and no plaque or yuck taste first thing.

Farra, there are 2 things you can do: 1. continue just as till now and within a week, it should clear us IF the oil is "doing something". 2. Switch to a different oil and see if you get other results.

I too get bad breath from O.P. It must represent the condition of some type infection or toxin in the body. I use mouthwash before and after O.P. , and also take 1 grm Vit-C before and 3 grms MSM after O.P. I also swish H2O2 occasionally to reduce the yellowing of the teeth.

I tried OP for the first time yesterday with pure virgin olive oil. Healthy with no known disease just wanted to try it. I was only able to do it for 5 mins. My partner said my breath was terrible the rest of the day, into the night. She even claims that when we woke up the whole room smelled a little "rotten". This morning I did more research and tried again, 20 mins. I rinsed with salt water after and brushed (I did neither the day before). I read through so many post and seems no one experienced bad breath AFTER, is this strange? I could only think it must be doing something if a tiny bit of olive oil is making that big of difference. Any thoughts or suggestions, should I discontinue use?

Been OP [oil pulling] since mid-November about twice a day with VCO. My first day, noticed a lot of mucus on my tongue after the second pull. I brushed my teeth & tongue after and rinsed with water as well. Most days I just have to blow my nose after & maybe spit mucus once or twice. A couple days back, I felt a scratchy feeling near the back of my mouth towards the throat when I was done. I took out a flashlight & saw a small round bump. Then I noticed what looked like mucus coming out of the throat area around the tonsils, coming through the flesh. Then, the next half hour I started coughing & spitting up phlegm continuously. Then it stopped, the bump & mucus was gone, and I had the best night's sleep I've had in awhile. The changes I've noticed so far include clear skin, I just don't seem to get acne now & I've had bouts of acne for over 25 years. My hair doesn't seem to split as bad as it used to. My teeth are whiter, tartar that has built up on the inside front of two of my lower teeth seems to be reducing, my gums are a lighter pink. I started breaking out in hives a few months back. I would feel like my heart was racing even though my pulse was normal or even slightly low. I would feel a burning inside that sometimes made me physically ill to my stomach. It looked like someone was drawing the world map on my back & legs from the hives. Numerous sleepless nights as a result. It took me awhile to figure out that the triggers were all grains & sulfites. I have had a couple of accidental exposures since the oil pulling & the hives symptoms are significantly reduced. In fact, there was only a slight feeling of racing and a couple small areas of hives. I have also noticed the fibrocystic lumps in my breasts seem to be shrinking and this has been the most pain free period in the last couple weeks than I've had for more than a year (although I should add that for the last few months I have also gone off all caffeine & no bra). Finally, there is no arthritis in my hands so far this year. By this time, last year, my hands were always either stiff or sore. Oil pulling is quite literally changing my life. I have always tried to live healthy, my weight is reasonable, in fact I've only had two periods of time my entire life where I was overweight. Once from childbirth and once from an injury that limited my movement for six months. However, despite all the healthy eating & use of natural medicine, nothing has created as noticeable a difference as oil pulling has. I want to thank you; because it was while I was trying to search for remedies for hives that I came across oil pulling on this site. Thank you!

Maria: I use the standard (proly gmo) veg oil (usually corn or soy) for pulling for whole body detox. I also don't use 1 spoon, I get a mouth full for about 15 min. What's left I spit in empty plastic peanut bottle and the contents is usually bad smelly and always cloudy. If you are pulling for oral health I can't testify for this remedy. If you're body isn't in need of detox (young & healthy) the Coconut Oil will proly be your best choice. Anyway, give us some input of your condition and results from O.P. ing.

I am just curious if oil pulling can be done with Corn / vegetable oil this is the only oil we have at home and I would really like to try it!

This is a first for me, I just happened to browse the net and noticed the words "oil pulling". My dentist wants to extract 11 of my teeth and I'm finding that rather drastic. I definitely have gum disease, he's going to do a cleaning next Monday and then start extracting on Wednesday. I'm not so sure about that as of yet. I just did my first 20 minute session of oil pulling with EV Olive Oil and I must say, my mouth feels refreshed and the only sore spot in it is where the hygenist placed a metal plate yesterday and it actually scratched the inside of my lip, so that, hmmm well, it feels much better now. I believe in alternative treatment due to a wonderful skin specialist, who cured me of a horrendous skin infection years ago with the use of plain water out of the tap. My problem never came back, so I'll give this oil pulling a try and I'll be back with feedback.....