Last week Facebook was suddenly overloaded with a link to a blog talking about oil pulling and all the great benefits. It was a picture with someone holding a teaspoon of coconut oil and saying something like, "WTF is oil pulling + Why I'm hooked" and then listing some of the benefits. In fact, here's the link if you want to check it out: http://www.fashionlush.com/wtf-is-oil-pulling-why-im-hooked/
A bunch of people were both freaked out and excited about it. Since I have been doing it off and on for about 2 years and regularly for 3 months, I got so excited to tell my friends that it is, in fact, AMAZING!! I don't know about ALL the benefits that people usually claim (e.g., draws toxins out of your body, relieves headaches & hangovers, helps you sleep better, etc.). I'm no scientist, so while I can't claim all of these miraculous results, I can tell you what it has done for you.
I started doing it regularly for a month before I had my first (dreaded) dental appointment since I had been pregnant. It had been almost two years in fact. When your pregnant, you are more likely to get cavities because your sending a bunch of vitamins and minerals to the little peanut growing inside you which can take away from the vitamins and minerals that are usually meant to strengthen your tooth enamel. On top of that, many pregnant women tend to get really relaxed when it comes to the food they eat. Before I got pregnant, I was pretty strict paleo. Once I got pregnant, I eased up on the rules. I had wheat & ice cream (not regularly, of course) and was addicted to chips, stove-popped popcorn with coconut oil, watermelon, and white rice. Obviously, this diet was not exactly a teeth-strengthening regimen. In addition to that, I religiously took my fermented cod liver oil/high vitamin butter blend, chlorophyll, awesome probiotics, and magnesium. Supplements don't outweigh a bad diet, but I tried to get some of what I was missing in my diet for a few months (I went back to 80% Paleo later on in pregnancy).
So…after a month of oil-pulling everyday, as many as three times a day, I begrudgingly went to appointment. It's important to note that at the beginning of the month I had a very sensitive spot in the top back right molars. It was sensitive enough that I had to be careful when I drank certain things and my teeth ACHED when I would try to run or would move/shake my head a certain way. I had never before felt this, so I was extremely paranoid. I went over all the possible things I could say to my dentist about putting off getting my cavities filled.
As I laid down on the table and prepared myself for the worst x-rays and cleaning of my life, I was blown away when--after the X-rays showed no cavities--the hygienist kept commenting on how white my teeth are. She also told me that she could tell I was doing a great job with my flossing. Little did she know, I rarely ever floss. As she continued to check my teeth stating the little numbers when testing my gums--or rather, the pockets in my gums (0 is perfect, 4 & 5 are horrible and mean that you have to go to a specialist)--she reported that I had mostly 0s and 1s and only one 2! The last time I had this done I had one 1 and the rest were 2s (who's on first?). My entire cleaning ended up being around 5 or 6 minutes tops. Again, this was all after a pretty terrible diet, at least 1 year after my last cleaning, less/nonexistent flossing, taking some supplements, and oil pulling regularly for only ONE MONTH. I am not exaggerating when I say it was the BEST DENTAL APPOINTMENT EVER!!!! After my cleaning, I shared with the hygienist what I had been doing, and she was completely shocked and didn't believe me. I finally convinced her to try it, so I wonder how it's been for her now.
To recap, the benefits that I have gotten: healthier gums, whiter teeth, fresher breath, CLEANER teeth at the end of the day (I never have that hairy/fuzzy feeling at the end of the day), and…I've even had the dreaded and disgusting tonsil stones come out during an oil pulling sesh (one of the most disgusting things EVER). Better out than in, right? Since tonsil stones are obviously in the tonsils which are in the sinus network, I think oil pulling does help clear your sinuses, however I don't have actual "proof" other than the occasional nasal drip in the back of my throat while oil pulling.
That has been my experience with it. All in all, I think it's awesome. I've gotten some of my friends and family members to do it too, so hopefully with the recent attention from the blogpost on Fashion Lush, more people will start doing it too and will in turn be more open to the possibility of healing the mouth holistically (AND economically!).