Health trends are fickle. What’s popular one month is more often than not passé the next, usually after being swiftly debunked – only after it’s already made a dent in your pocket though, of course. One trend that just won’t go away, however, is oil pulling, with its proponents declaring benefits all the way from curing bad breath to tackling diabetes – but how true are such claims?
What is oil pulling?
Oil pulling is the practice of swishing a small amount of edible oil around your mouth for a while, usually around 20 minutes, “pulling” the oil through the mouth and teeth, before spitting it out.
It’s a method that comes from traditional Ayurvedic medicine, with a recent surge in popularity that’s seen oil pulling supported by celebrities and internet users alike, with sesame, coconut, olive, and sunflower oils being popular choices.
Does oil pulling have any oral health benefits?
Bad breath
One of the purported benefits of oil pulling is in reducing halitosis, the medical term for bad breath. This can have multiple causes, but odor-producing bacteria trapped on the tongue and forming a sticky film called plaque on the teeth can often be the source of the problem.
A small study of 20 teenagers suggested that oil pulling with sesame oil was as effective as chlorhexidine – an antiseptic used as a mouthwash to kill bacteria in the mouth – at reducing halitosis, with participants reporting less unpleasant breath.
However, as can be seen from the number of participants, this study is small – scientists can’t make any hard and fast conclusions from such a sample size, at least not any reliable ones.
Other more general meta-analyses and reviews of oil pulling found it appeared to reduce bacteria in the saliva, which could potentially have an effect on halitosis, but that’s still far from definitive evidence that oil pulling can make breath less smelly.
Tooth decay and gum disease
Review studies have also assessed whether or not oil pulling appears to have any impact on two of the main factors contributing to tooth decay and serious gum disease: plaque, in which bacteria produce acid that breaks down teeth; and gingivitis, an early stage of gum disease characterized by irritated, bleeding gums, and when left untreated can progress to periodontitis, which can destroy the bone supporting teeth if not treated.
A 2023 meta-analysis found that oil pulling significantly improved participants’ modified gingival index scores (MGI), a measure of gum health, compared to non-chlorhexidine mouthwash. A 2020 review identified two studies that concluded it reduced plaque, but the authors note that “there was no reported statistical difference in one”. The authors of both papers commented that no conclusive findings could be made because many of the studies analyzed were of low quality.
A similar conclusion was made in a 2022 meta-analysis, although the authors there also found no significant difference in gingivitis and plaque when comparing oil pulling and a control method.
Authors cited problems such as a high risk of bias, small sample size, and general poor study design – and because of those problems, it would be hard to reliably conclude that oil pulling had any effect in preventing tooth decay and gum disease.
Teeth whitening
While stain-free teeth aren’t necessarily an indicator of good oral health, the appearance of our teeth can affect how we feel about ourselves – there’s a reason why the global teeth whitening market is so successful. But what if there was a less expensive way to get whiter teeth than strips and toothpaste?
Unfortunately, there’s no solid scientific research to support that oil pulling is the much cheaper answer. That’s meant quite literally, by the way – while there’s a wealth of anecdotal evidence online, a TikTok video does not a scientific study make, and proper scientific studies on the matter are few and far between.
Does oil pulling have any wider health benefits?
Besides oral health, there are also people who claim that oil pulling can have a multitude of health benefits throughout the body, like helping with hangovers, clearing your sinuses and even managing diabetes – but none of these have any scientific backing.
“You can make the stretch that oral health can support systemic health — that there are benefits downstream, but to date, there is no scientific research that oil pulling is a direct mechanism of action for these other conditions. ” wellness and preventive medicine specialist and osteopathic physician Dr Sandra Darling told Cleveland Clinic HealthEssentials. “And no current evidence suggests that improving oral hygiene alone will improve diabetes or other chronic conditions.”
A more general health claim that’s often made is that oil pulling “detoxifies” the body, but no such cure-all treatment exists – detoxifying is the exclusive job of the liver and kidneys.
The bottom line
The issue with the vast majority of studies into the purported benefits of oil pulling for oral health is that they’re not particularly reliable.
It’s no surprise then that the American Dental Association “does not recommend oil pulling as a dental hygiene practice.” That’s not to say that the potential for benefits is nonexistent, but research so far hasn’t been sufficient enough to prove otherwise.
That being said, oil pulling isn’t likely to do you much harm either – unless you’re allergic to the oil or you swallow too much of it, which can lead to stomach upset. Those things aside, there’s nothing to stop you from adding it to your routine, but if that routine is already adequate, there’s also no good reason to add in oil pulling.
What makes an adequate routine? The ADA says: “[B]rush twice a day for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste and floss between your teeth once a day and don’t use tobacco.”
All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text, images, and links may be edited, removed, or added to at a later date to keep information current.
The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
Source Link: Oil Pulling: What Is It And Does It Really Benefit Your Health?
