Oil Pulling for Teeth Whitening and Bad Breath Tested

An overview of the effects of oil rush comes to the conclusion that ancient practice it can really have beneficial effects on the health of the oral cavity and teeth. We talked about the benefits to the teeth, but not the oral cavity. Buttering with oil has also been tested for “oral odor,” also known as halitosis or just bad breath. One quarter of the world’s population is estimated to suffer from this. So it is decided to test the oil rush against chlorhexidine. However, how is bad breath testing done?

There are all kinds of really modern methods – gas chromatography, electron nose, diamond samples and dark-field microscopy – but they are either really expensive or not very reliable. So they decide to follow the “gold standard”. They told the study participants to exhale in the face of the researcher. And then they wanted to know what the participants thought for their own breath, so they were asked to lick their own wrist and smell it and then score from zero to extremely nasty.

And although participants thought their licked wrists they smell better after two weeks of oil rush, the researchers disagreed with the statement that their breath smelled better. But after three weeks, it was significant and comparable improving the smell of the breath in the oil rush group and the chlorhexidine intake group. I was pretty excited about this study because here they were actually using a placebo, colored water to match the type of chlorhexidine and to rush with her for the same duration. AHA! Finally, we can answer this nasty question whether rushing with oil reduces plaque and gingivitis because of the oil or just because of it, that a person is in a hurry no matter what, for so long And it turns out that water works just as well – the same amount oil or the same amount of water – which suggests that the plaque is just being destroyed by prolonged rinsing.

Yes, the oil can be 5 or 6 times cheaper than chlorhexidine and safer but cheaper and safer than plain water? Yes, but can water whiten your teeth? Many internet sites recommend it with confidence the rumble of teeth whitening oil, but there are no published studies in the medical literature and so, many doctors just give up the idea. But these two Detroit dental professors decide to check it out. They selected teeth from their collection human teeth extracted (sounds a bit like a horror movie).

So they put them in tubs of coconut oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil, together with a little fake saliva and shake them vigorously every day for two weeks and found no any evidence, suggesting that oil rush has some effect on teeth whitening. It’s like when another recommendation from the internet was tested, strawberries and baking soda, apparently from Dr. Oz. Teeth whitening strips work; the home teeth whitening system works, with her the dentist sends you home with specially made silicone rails; and teeth whitening in the dentist’s office also works, but the do-it-yourself mix with strawberries and bread soda fails the result is as bad as when using water from the control group. What about tooth erosion? In the video on plant nutrition and dental health I talked about how people who eat healthier can have healthier gums, but as they tend to eat more acidic foods like citrus fruits and tomatoes, fruit teas, they may be at higher risk of erosion of some of the enamel, that is why we need to rinse our mouths with water after eating or drinking acidic foods and pickles, but what about rinsing with oil every morning? The way our body protects our teeth from erosion, is by creating a “zipper” on the teeth, a protective layer mostly saliva proteins, but also low in fat.

So, hey, can oil rush prevent erosion on the surface of our teeth by reinforcing this protective layer? There is no way to know until we check. Here they wanted to examine the teeth under a microscope then, and this is difficult to do while they are still part of people’s mouths. So they put beef teeth in people’s mouths, left them sitting there until this protective layer developed and then in one group they were rushing with oil and in the control group not, then they extracted the teeth and exposed them to acid. If you expose your teeth to acid without putting them in your mouth, serious demineralization takes place within 2 minutes, 120 seconds. The calcium in the teeth is destroyed by contact with the acid. But if you let those same teeth roll in your mouth for a few minutes and then expose them to acid, then there will be less erosion.

Okay, but what if you put them in your mouth and frolic with a little oil? Will there be even less erosion? No, there is more. It is as if oil rush undermines the protective layer. And this is exactly what is visible under the microscope. This is what this protective layer looks like before and after the oil rush. There are suspicions that the oil may actually be to exhaust the protective layer of some of the protection.

Read More: How Tooth Whitening Works