Guest post by Ananga Sivyar from Living By Design
Every so often the internet buzzes with a new “cure all”, right now oil pulling is the thing. So what is it? And should you be doing it?
Oil pulling comes from Ayurveda where rinsing the mouth with oil is recommended for keeping teeth and gums healthy.
You might want to try it:
If you want white healthy teeth forget harsh oral bleach and get yourself some sesame oil (not the toasted type, just plain cold pressed oil and organic if possible). By using the sesame oil as a mouthwash you can improve the health of your gums and teeth and help detox the upper part of your digestive system.
Earth Clinic gives details on the benefits of oil pulling and recommends using sesame or sunflower oil for detox benefits. Since Ayurveda favours sesame oil for oral health and as an antidote to the drying effects that ageing has on the body, that’s what I use and recommend.
How to do oil pulling for yourself:
First thing in the morning, before eating or drinking, take a small measuring cup and measure about 15ml of sesame oil. Pour the oil into your mouth, like you would a mouth wash, and begin moving it around, drawing it repeatedly between your teeth and making a chewing action with your teeth and jaws.
Keep actively working the oil around your mouth for a minimum of 5-10 minutes. Longer is better if you can. After 10-15 minutes the oil will become thin and white as it emulsifies with your saliva.
Then spit it out and rinse your mouth with warm water and clean your teeth using a small amount of natural toothpaste. If you want to clean your tongue with a tongue scraper you will thoroughly remove toxins from its surface and stimulate your digestive system too.
If morning times are busy for you, you could practice oil pulling while showering, or doing other morning activities, so it doesn’t add minutes to your routine.
Bed time gum massage:
Ayurveda recommends massaging the gums with sesame oil before going to bed to prevent or help receding gums. For a quick night time boost to your oral health, you could pour a little oil onto the bristles of an electric toothbrush and then massage around your gums and over the surface of your teeth. For maximum benefit don’t rinse afterwards, just leave the oil residue in your mouth to work while you rest. It’s not unpleasant and makes your mouth feel very clean.
Sesame oil works as a great natural lip salve too, dip your finger into a small amount and rub it gently into your lips morning and night to protect them from chapping.
While the oil’s out why not spend a couple more minutes really looking after yourself?
The sesame oil de-stress routine:
To ease anxiety and improve sleep pour a little oil into the palm of your hand and massage into your forehead and temples. Rubbing warm sesame oil into the area between your eyebrows in slow gentle circles is particularly good for calming your mind and improving the quality of sleep.
Finally use a little more oil and massage it into your feet. Work up and down the instep to release tension from your spine, and across the soles of your feet to relax tension and help you feel grounded as you settle down to rest.
If you’re worried about getting oil on your bed linen you could sleep with cotton socks on which will also help keep your feet warm and draw tension from your head down into your lower body.
Note from Carole: I highly recommend visiting Earth Clinic, lots of honest feedback from people around the world and their personal experiences with oil pulling. Coconut oil and sesame seem to be the two most popular oils used for “oil pulling”. There’s also a great list of the different oils and their health benefits. Click here to read more
This is a guest post written by the gorgeous, Ananga Sivyar from Living By Design: Ananga is Anti-stress campaigner, maker of music for meditation, writer and calm coach. I can highly recommend Ananga music, she even has some free downloads over at her site.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Carole, the concept of using sesame oil as a mouthwash is too weird however, I think I will try it. Reading Ananga’s post where she mentions the massage of the instep before sleep made me relax immediately. Thoughts are powerful huh?
Peace and chocolate… have an excellent day!
Hi Ange,
I know at first sesame oil does sound weird, but I must admit I’ve noticed some changes already, after only a few days.
If you head over to http://www.earthclinic.com you’ll read lots and lots of fabulous stories about the benefits from oil pulling. I was impressed.
Peace, love and chocolate
Carole
This is an intriguing article. I am open to new ideas for using natural products for oral health. I use thyme and massage my gum twice daily with fantastic results.
Sesame oil, hm mm,I will give it a try and give you some feed back in a couple of months.
My gums are very sensitive, they bleed from flossing and have started to develop a mild recession, which I’ve never experienced before. I found this site earlier this week and started rinsing with Sesame Oil 3 days ago. My teeth feel smoother and very clean and the stinging of the gums has decreased. I hope this is the start of the healing process. Thanks so much for the helpful information.
Hi Lana,
I’m so pleased you found a positive experience with this article. You must
let me know what happens after 30 days or so. I’m the same as you and noticed a change almost straight away.
Carole
i’ve been doing oil pulling with various oils for years. i started with virgin coconut oil and then tried extra virgin olive oil and finally sesame oil. sesame oil is my favorite.
i also use sesame oil on my face and body. it is amazing how well this oil works on my skin. i have aging dry skin and sesame oil almost makes it feel like young skin again.
my gums were starting to recede and i started using a mixture of raw sesame oil, oil of oregano oil and spearmint oil as a tooth paste. i’m already seeing results.
I will try ASAP. Do you know anything about tooth regeneration? I have some serious dental issues.
Thanks,
Its an amazing post. Really simple steps to follow to avoid any tooth decay or loss and gain back the whitening of the tooth. thanks for sharing the information.
Thankyou for this information.
I will try this.
You are gift from the heavens.
Wow, I had no idea about sesame oil and how great it is for teeth. I am sort of a dentist-a-phobe (I know, it’s a terrible habit) so I will definitely be trying this. Thanks for sharing
I don’t have sunflower or sesame, but I have a lot of oil of oregano.. and I’ve been pulling with, BURNS LIKE HELL but I know has hugely antimicrobial and anti cancer effects, would this work just as well as sesame or sunflower or is there something special about the two. Thanks
You have done a great job on your site. Keep it up!!!
I absolutely love oil pulling with coconut oil, my teeth and gums are so healthy! It’s simply wonderful! Go coconut, go oil pulling
I have never left feedback on health advice, but I need to share my experiance with oil pulling. 15 years ago the dentist told me my gums were in bad shape, she prescribed some mouthwash that I had to use twice a day. After a couple months I couldn’t afford the weekly appointments. In mean time I lost some back teeth due to old fillings falling out. About 3 years ago I read about oil pulling on line. I kept getting abscesses on my gums plus always getting food stuck in my gums, so I stared oil pulling twice daily ,on and off for two yrs. well, no more abscesses and puffy gums. I was in desperate need for a dentist another tooth broke off at the gums. The worst tooth ache of my life. I made a appointment , and was scared to death to hear about all the gum damage. Well!,,I was floored to find out I had no gum disease. I did need some fillings and two bridges in the back . $4,000.00 of dental work , but NO gum disease I say because of the two yrs. of oil pulling. I had to share my experiance with oil pulling.