Dr. Jayshree Thorat

A common man follows a standard daily oral hygiene routine, which entails brushing one’s teeth and rinsing one’s mouth. At the most, some people who are extra conscious about their oral hygiene use dental floss or some branded mouthwash for the fresh feeling. But, the question remains, is it enough?

From the time you wake up till the time you go back to sleep, your mouth is susceptible to a large amount of attacks from bacteria, which enter your body through your mouth. This results in unwanted and harmful dental diseases. This can happen in spite of the fact that people regularly and religiously follow their daily oral hygiene as well as their trips to the dentist for regular clean-ups. So what is that extra something that can help get rid of the bacteria trying to take permanent residence in your mouth?

Oil Pulling:

Oil pulling is an ancient and traditional Ayurvedic technique which is your best bet to detoxify your mouth from that pesky bacterium along with whitening and cleaning of your teeth. It is also a proven cure for innumerable diseases like skin infections, arthritis, liver and stomach problems, curing headaches and migraines, throat infections etc. Any type of edible oil can be used for this highly beneficial Ayurvedic technique.

Following are a set of instructions for the process of how oil pulling is done:

1. Oil pulling process should be conducted immediately after waking up before eating or drinking anything.
2. Choose edible oil like sesame, coconut or olive oil for this purpose.
3. Take not more than 2 tablespoons of oil in the mouth and swish it i.e. is move it around the mouth for at least 20 minutes moving it throughout the mouth and along the gums and in between the teeth also.
4. Avoid decreasing the time limit for swishing the oil in the mouth. By decreasing the time you might not be able to completely detoxify your mouth and by increasing the time the risks of absorbing the toxins back in the mouth and stomach are high. To know when the time is right to stop swishing the oil in your mouth, you can out a little oil from your mouth. If the oil has thinned and turned white or milky then it is time to spit out the rest of the oil from your mouth.
5. After spitting out the oil, rinse and gargle your mouth with warm water and use a tongue cleaner to remove all residue of the oil.

Repeat this process everyday for satisfying results.

Benefits of oil pulling:

1. The main cause of bad breath in your mouth is tooth decay which is caused by a bacterium which is called Streptococcus mutans bacteria. Oil pulling is an attested form of Ayurvedic technique which gets rid of this bacterium from your mouth permanently.
2. Teeth and gum related diseases like gingivitis and periodontists are also cured.
3. It helps to reduce in dental cavities.
4. Oil pulling invigorates the lymphatic system by depleting the toxins in the vital organs of the body.
5. Helps in getting whiter and brighter teeth.

While oil pulling is a very involved technique, a quicker way to adopt Ayurveda on a daily basis is the use of tooth powder. Tooth powder is an Ayurvedic replacement to toothpaste without the harmful chemicals (especially fluoride) that go into our daily minty and frothy brushing experience. It has proven to be much more effective than tooth paste in getting rid of yellowness of teeth, gingivitis and bleeding gums.