Oil Pulling and Oral Health: A Review.

ABSTRACT

Oil pulling is extensively used as a traditional Indian folk remedy without the scientific proof for many years to prevent decay, bleeding gums, oral malodor, dryness of throat, cracked lips and for strengthening teeth, gums, and jaws. This paper reviewed the literature on oil pulling based on the scientific articles available under the following subheadings (1) Introduction (2) history (3) procedure (4) mechanism (5) benefits (6) discussion (7) summary (8) conclusion. Oil pulling or oil swishing is the ayurvedic way of maintaining oral health and improving overall immune system. Oil also pulling acts as an excellent detoxifying agent in healing the body inside. Oil pulling is a procedure in which the practitioners rinse their mouth with approximately one tablespoon of an ordinary cooking oil for 3-20 min, then spits it out. This procedure is typically performed daily. In this narrative review, authors try to illustrate different types of oil used for oil pulling and their oral benefits and general benefits on the health. Various oils used for swishing (pulling) the oral cavity-coconut oil, palm oil, corn oil, rice bran oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, etc. Though oil pulling is effective, none of the studies considered it as a replacement for the tooth brushing, but can definitely be a supplemental oral hygiene aid.