Last week, I discussed the merits of oil pulling, and whether there was any scientific evidence to back up all the claims floating around on the net. It turns out that there was, and as a result I’m halfway through a two week oil pulling regime. Hurrah! But something that all the studies agreed on was that oil pulling alone wasn’t enough for optimum oral health – for that we need the humble toothbrush…
Why conventional toothpaste is harming your health
Have you ever paid any attention to those Colgate (or any other big-name toothpaste brand) ads? You’ll notice they always have snappy signoffs like “the toothpaste that dentists use!”. Well, while your average conventional dentist might know his or her way around a tooth filling or cavity, they’re not always up to speed on the latest and greatest when it comes to everyday oral hygiene.
And it turns out that the “toothpaste that dentists use” isn’t something that you want to be using! There’s all that triclosan, all those synthetic chemicals and additives, and of course fluoride (hint: it’s not as healthy as you think!). As one recent study concluded:
“A proportion of ingredients (28.9% [n = 13]) were found to be both unnecessary to improving the oral health of children and solely used to increase their appeal. Of this list of unnecessary ingredients, 69.2% (n = 9) were shown to have contamination risks associated with chronic consumption, including enamel demineralization.”
Let me just get this straight: almost a third of ingredients in toothpaste are completely unnecessary, and some of them can even damage your teeth?? That probably explains why 98% of the population suffer from oral health problems. Thanks a lot, toothpaste.
Make your own DIY paleo toothpaste
As ever, the solution is to take matters into your own hands. With the exception of the wonderful folks over at OraWellness, you can’t really even trust the supposedly “healthy/alternative” toothpaste brands. They always manage to slip something nasty in there, regardless of best intentions.
And as I was scouring the net for a solution, I came across a tooth remineralizing recipe from WellnessMama. The below recipe is a slight adaptation on hers, and it’s just as effective – I can personally attest to that! We use it morning and night, and it’s working wonders for our pearly whites.
DIY recipe: remineralizing “toothpaste”
The word “toothpaste” has quotation marks around it because it’s more of a powder, if I’m completely honest. But don’t let that put you off – the powder is just as easy to use as conventional toothpaste. If you don’t have all the ingredients, don’t stress too much – the main thing is that you use bentonite clay and baking soda. Bentonite clay is a swelling clay that attracts and binds to toxins in the mouth (or anywhere for that matter), making it an excellent choice for detoxifying the mouth and giving your teeth and gums a helping hand. Baking soda (which you’ll incidentally find in conventional toothpaste – quite possibly the only good ingredient!) contains essential minerals, whitens teeth, and is alkalizing.
Track down a wide-mouth mason jar or medium-sized glass jar of any kind. Make sure it has a lid, as you’ll be using this stuff for at least a few weeks!
Next, carefully spoon/sprinkle all of the ingredients into the jar. Using a teaspoon, mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are blended equally.
To use, either dip your toothbrush into a little coconut oil or simply dampen with water, then dip your brush into the powder mix. Use the bass brushing technique to get rid of all that plaque without damaging your gums, and rinse with cool to warm water.
To store your remineralizing tooth powder, simply put the lid on! It’ll last for months, as there’s no ingredient that will spoil. Plus there’s no risk of mold, on account of all the antimicrobial agents present in your powder.
And if you can’t be bothered making your own, there’s always the OraWellness HealThyMouth Blend. It’s your call!
Have you tried a natural oral care routine? Has it helped to reverse cavities, kick bad breath…that kind of thing? We’d love to hear your stories!
In my time as an alternative health guru, I’ve come across loads of old wives’ tales that simply don’t stack up. Tonics that cure all manner of illnesses. Home-made lotions that clear up all kinds of skin problems. Strange habits that somehow, mysteriously cure health conditions people have been trying to treat for years. Some work, and some fail. Some are funny, some make a lot of sense, and some are downright dangerous. So which category does oil pulling fall into?
What actually IS oil pulling?
Alright, so you’ve got a vague idea of oil pulling involving coconut oil and your mouth…but what does it actually mean?
Oil pulling developed as an integral part of Ayurveda, a traditional form of Indian medicine which took shape between 3000 and 5000 years ago. Essentially, it involves swishing any kind of edible oil around in the mouth for a period of time, to prevent dental decay, oral difficulties, bleeding gums, and plenty more. Commonly used oils include sesame oil, sunflower oil, olive oil and coconut oil. Coconut oil, being the new golden girl of the alternative health world, is the obvious choice for most oil pullers.
While it has it’s origins in ancient Ayurvedic practice, it wasn’t until the early 1990s that oil pulling was popularized by a certain Ukrainian doctor by the name of F. Karach. In 1991, Dr Karach delivered a lecture to the Houston Indian Senior Citizens Association, and word got out. Next thing, the good doctor’s lecture was posted in the Journal of World Teletherapy, and it was on to bigger and better things from there.
Dr Karach had some bold claims about the benefits oil pulling could provide for not only oral health, but general health as well. Karach believed that oil pulling could cure upwards of 30 systemic diseases and health conditions, including asthma, diabetes, hypertension, and even migraine headaches. While some of these claims are undoubtedly farfetched, modern science continues to establish links between oral hygiene and general health. A well-researched example is the association between oral infections and diabetes mellitus.
So there’s obviously some truth to Dr Karach’s beliefs, but the problem is that there’s very little scientific basis to most of them. Sure, oil pulling might help you treat diabetes, headaches or even asthma, but it also might not. So what benefits do we know that oil pulling provides, without a shadow of doubt?
The scientifically proven benefits of oil pulling
Happily, there’s actually a reasonable amount of studies into the health benefits of oil pulling. While many of them so far have been small and for a relatively short duration, the results show that there’s some definite scientific substance to several claims about oil pulling.
Oil pulling treats gingivitis and plaque
Research indicates that oil pulling is an effective treatment against gingivitis. A 2009 study published in the Indian Journal of Denture Research took 20 compliant teenage males with some seriously nasty oral hygiene and asked half of them to do oil pulling using sesame oil once a day, along with their (presumably lacking) usual dental routine. The other 10 boys were given chlorhexidine mouthwash to use on a daily basis as a control group.
After 10 days, the test subjects were checked to see how their oral health was coming along. The researchers found that both groups had comparable reductions in both plaque and gingivitis, and that these reductions were significant. In their words: “the oil pullingtherapy showed a reduction in the plaque index, modified gingival scores, and total colony count of aerobic microorganisms in the plaque of adolescents with plaque-induced gingivitis.” And of course the winner here is oil pulling, because it doesn’t expose your gums (and therefore bloodstream) to nasty chemicals and additives like those found in the commercial mouthwash.
Oil pulling treats Streptococcus mutans
This is good news, because Strep mutans is one of the leading bad guys in the harmful oral bacteria world. This 2008 study once again grabbed hold of 20 adolescent boys, which leads me to believe that there’s some affiliation between this study and the previous one that looked at gingivitis. Nothing wrong with that, technically.
Researchers gave the half of the boys sesame oil to conduct oil pulling once a day for 2 weeks, and the other half that same nasty chlorhexidine mouthwash. After checking up on the lads, they found that “the reduction in the S. mutans count in the plaque of the study group was statistically significant after 1 and 2 weeks.” This suggests that while oil pulling is effective in treating Strep mutans, you need to do it for at least a week to see any results. Good to know, right?
While much of the research has focused on sesame oil, coconut oil shows even more promise. A comprehensive 2011 study published in the Asia Journal of Public Health found that coconut oil was not only effective against S. mutans, it also exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against our old foe Candida albicans.
Oil pulling treats halitosis (bad breath!)
We all know someone who battles with bad breath. Perhaps that someone is you. Either way, constantly belting out great clouds of fumes isn’t great for one’s social life. Luckily, there appears to be an easy solution, and it’s not carcinogenic “sugarfree” chewing gum. Yup, it’s oil pulling!
A 2011 study published in the Journal of Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry (say that ten times!) once again pitted sesame oil pulling against regular mouthwash to see which was most effective in treating halitosis and the bacteria that cause bad breath. Weirdly enough, they also conducted the research using 20 adolescents. Interesting. Regardless of the deja vu, the results were promising: “oil pulling therapy has been equally effective like chlorhexidine on halitosis and organisms associated with halitosis.” Garbled English aside, 2 weeks of oil pulling appeared to make a big headway into treating bad breath.
Oil pulling DOES NOT detoxify the blood
Sadly, this is one rumor that simply isn’t true. This study puts it nicely: “oil pulling cannot actually draw toxins out of the blood as claimed because the oral mucosa does not act as a semi-permeable membrane to allow toxins to pass through.” In other words, while toxins can enter the bloodstream via the gums, oil can’t somehow magically draw those toxins right back out again. Toxins still in the mouth? Sure. Toxins elsewhere in the body? Nope.
How to do oil pulling with coconut oil
While much of the research has examined oil pulling through the lens of either sesame oil or sunflower oil, coconut oil is still your best choice in my opinion. It’s a wide-spectrum antibacterial and anti-microbial agent, meaning it can kill off a range of different pathogens in your mouth, and it has a much better omega-3 to omega-6 ratio than sunflower or sesame. Because more omega-6 fatty acids mean more inflammation, coconut oil is the logical choice.
Here’s what to do:
Pop a heaped teaspoon of coconut oil into your mouth. If it’s solid, give it a minute to melt before you start the next step.
Swish the coconut oil gently around your mouth. The idea is to move it between your teeth from one side of your mouth to the other – like you would with mouthwash, but more gently. Continue doing this for 10 to 20 minutes – the longer you do it for, the more bacteria you’ll draw out of your teeth and gums. Try to avoid going over 20 minutes however, as word has it that your body starts to re-absorb the toxins after that point.
Spit the oil out. Don’t be tempted to keep the coconut oil for cooking or anything else, as it’s loaded with your mouth toxins! Gross! I usually spit it into a paper towel and put it in the rubbish, as it could clog up your plumbing if spat into the sink and it’s too fatty for the compost.
Rinse your mouth with warm water, and spit that out as well!
Brush your teeth as per your normal routine. For best results, and because I care about my gums, I use the OraWellness Healthy Mouth Blend along with the Bass toothbrush. They’re more than your average toothpaste and toothbrush, but a worthy investment in your health.
As we saw in several of the studies, your best bet is to continue oil pulling every day for at least 2 weeks. Feel free to take a break after that point, but there’s nothing stopping you from making this a part of your regular dental routine. Your teeth just gave you a high five!
Oh, and just so you know – I’m literally giving oil pulling a go as I type this post! I’m planning on doing it every day over the next couple of weeks, and I’ll report back on whether it’s made any difference to my pearly whites at the end.
UPDATE: I’m two weeks into my daily oil pulling commitment and actually really enjoying it. My teeth have definitely gotten a couple of shades whiter (which could also be in-part due to my remineralizing tooth powder recipe), and my mouth feels a lot fresher. I also had a small cut on one of my gums from a rare chip eating incident, and it healed super fast with the oil pulling. I’m going to keep this up for at least another week and see how things go!
Thanks for reading, everyone! What are your thoughts on oil pulling? Still think it’s just a load of codswallop, or have you used it already and seen significant improvements in your oral health?
Raw milk is a bit of a controversial topic. In fact, in Canada, it is completely banned from being sold to the public. All milk in Canada must be deposited into a centrally controlled “pool” and pasteurized before it is allowed to be sold. Raw milk is considered dangerous and un-fit for general consumption.
So why would you want to drink raw milk?
The idea of drinking raw milk entered my awareness after going to the dentist a few months ago. Those events aren’t actually directly connected – don’t think for a second that my dentist made any dietary recommendations for healing my teeth – Oh nooo! (sarcasm!) The only things he recommended was to use a high-fluoride toothpaste, and awful electric toothbrush with skull-penetrating vibration that made me feel like I was going to the dentist to get my teeth drilled every single day…but more on the follies of mainstream dentistry another time!
Long story short, I found out that my dental health was not as pristine as I would have expected, considering I was brushing twice a day, flossing every day, and using mouthwash. I was also eating a generally Paleo diet very low in sugar and processed foods. So you would think I would have the healthiest teeth ever!
WRONG – I had some major issues including gingivitis, deep gum pockets and several impending cavities. I was actually pretty traumatized by the dire prognosis on my teeth.
And what does dental health have to do with raw milk?
Well, in typical ME style I was determined to reject the standard-issue dental diagnosis of “Come back in a month after using this high-chemical mouthwash, then we will fill one half of your cavities and put preventive resin on most of the rest of your teeth, then a month later we will fill some more cavities, then soon after that we should probably put a crown on that tooth…” etc etc etc. I was basically destined to constant HIGHLY unpleasant visits to the dentist, plus having to deal with a steady stream of insurance submittals, not to mention from then on having a mouth full of half-fake teeth…
I set out to do some SERIOUS research, and stumbled upon the Weston A Price Foundation and the book Cure Tooth Decay. This line of thinking embraces nutrient-dense foods with high levels of fat-soluble nutrients in line with the diet of our not-too-long-ago farming ancestors, and remote societies all over the world that still eat this way. Those societies display incredible resistance to tooth decay, plus they have the most gorgeous white teeth that fit into perfectly formed jaws and symmetrical faces.
One of the mainstays of these nutrient-dense foods is raw, grass fed dairy. Cows who are free to roam on pastured lands and eat green grass provide beautiful healthy milk free of toxins and high in super-nourishing vitamins that help us keep strong bones and teeth. Check out this link for all the reasons why raw milk is extremely beneficial.
Ok, so how do I get some if it’s illegal in Canada?
So after I did all that reading I was determined to get my hands on this raw milk that would heal my poor teeth and save me forever from the torture of the dentist’s chair. But how was that going to happen in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where raw milk is entirely illegal to sell, and where years of lobbying has barely influenced the law whatsoever?
I did A LOT of Googling, and found basically nothing (other than lots of advice to drive across the border and bring lots of grass fed products back; apparently it’s legal to do so for personal consumption). Finally I discovered the possiblity of a raw milk cowshare. Check out this website for raw milk cowshares in your area: Real Milk Finder.
These awesome farmers help people in their communities get access to the wonderful fresh products they produce through organizations like cowshares and co-ops. I buy milk, butter, cheese and kefir as well as 100% grass fed free range beef through a farm in west-central Ontario. Will and I actually bought a 1/4 share of a healthy, silky-coated shiny-eyed dairy cow that provides us with 25 L worth of dairy per week. A lovely warm-hearted guy who runs a co-op then brings the products into downtown Toronto once a week for convenient pick-up.
This is a loop-hole around the anti-raw-milk law: if you technically own a cow – or in our case, part of a cow – you can consume the products in whatever state you wish. We bought a share that is valid for the length of the cow’s life, about 6 years. This is easy to do by contacting the people on the Real Milk site in good faith.
It’s pretty sweet to have a part in such a grass-roots movement and to be able to imagine our happy little cow prancing in a green field somewhere not too far away, even though we are stuck here on the 25th floor above the dull roar of the Gardiner Expressway.
What is raw milk like?
The products are really affordable, plus they come in re-useable containers like glass jars. The milk is slightly creamy and deliciously flavourful. I had never tried raw milk before paying $500 for a cowshare (kind of risky I guess!) but it’s seriously delicious, and my stomach loves it. Despite not having a great time with commercial dairy products like ice cream.
We’ve been drinking the milk and kefir, and eating heaps of grass fed butter for about 2 months now, and seriously, my teeth have stopped hurting. I plan on going back to the dentist for an x-ray in about year’s time to compare to the x-rays I got a few months ago, and I’m betting the cavities I had developing will have halted, or maybe even disappeared.
Anyway, that’s about all I have to share at the moment, but feel free to comment below or get in touch if you have questions! I am ultra passionate about sharing knowledge and information on how to get your hands on quality local food.
A few months ago I started getting wise to the idea that the “normal” oral care products that we use without a second thought may not be the best for our mouths.
Ingredients like fluoride, alcohol and abrasives in mouthwash and toothpaste are a result of the ultra-commercialization of our self-care routines and may not actually give us the result we are looking for, which is of course: strong beautiful healthy teeth and gums!
I’ve found many sources that support the idea of making your own natural oral care products with safe household ingredients. The underlying thought is not to put anything in your mouth that you wouldn’t eat! You definitely wouldn’t eat toothpaste – it has a warning right on the tube that says do not swallow more than a pea-sized amount.
The gums, mouth tissues and sinuses are one of the fastest routes to the bloodstream through an ultra-thin layer of skin. Why do you think people take cocaine by rubbing it on their gums or inhaling it? Gross reference, I know, but it’s true. Therefore I’m happy to have stopped administering chemicals right into my bloodstream with commercial toothpastes and mouthwashes.
Here is what I use for mouthwash instead:
Just mix up in a glass (rough amounts):
1. 1/2 tsp of baking soda
2. 1/3 tsp of good sea salt
3. 2 drops of tea tree oil
4. 2 drops of peppermint oil
5. the powder from one emptied-out calcium-magnesium capsule
with a little bit of warm water, so that it looks like this:
Mix it up until the salt crystals dissolve, then slurp it back and slosh around your mouth thoroughly for a good minute or so. Sometimes if I put too much water in I have to do it in 2 mouthfuls to use up all the good ingredients.
It doesn’t sting or burn like commercial mouthwash, and leaves a nice clean herbal taste.
Try it out and let me know what you think in the comments! Or maybe you have your own recipe you can share? I’d love to hear about it!
