Teef Crazy - Pulling the Daytime Oil - Part 3

I've turned into a crazy, oil pulling zealot in the last three weeks. I'm not exaggerating when I say that oil pulling has revolutionized my life. I wish there was something so easy that would revolutionize my procrastination, my cooking skills, or my ability to maintain a tidy home. (Catch up on my oil pulling adventure here)

Although the tangible, visible results have slowed down a bit (once your teeth get dramatically whiter in 3 days, anything after the fact seems very slow),  I'm still noticing subtle changes - less plaque, pinker gums. But (like the true oil pulling evangelist I've become) the biggest change has been in myself. Truth is I really enjoy flossing and brushing now.

Laugh all you want but it's a pretty happy relationship I have going on with floss. And I'm not ashamed to shout it from the roof tops. I'm not afraid to jump on Oprah's couch. 

But you don't just have to believe crazy, faux hippies like myself. Read all about the clinical study here but the conclusion is: "Oil pulling can be used as an effective preventive adjunct in maintaining and improving oral health." Note the word adjunct. I still brush twice a day and floss every other day or so (much better than my previous once every two weeks). When people don't treat oil as an adjunct to brushing is where they lose interest. From comments around the blogs people are concerned with this being a morning activity and not having enough time. Although I do it in the morning, there have been days when it's best done at night when the baby is asleep and there is no one pressing to talk to for 20 minutes. As long as it's done daily alongside brushing your teeth I see no reason why you can't oil pull whenever you want.

I wish Lil' D could swish some oil with me but, alas, with four, half teeth and the lack of communication skills we are stuck with doing it the old fashioned way for awhile. She just got her first toothbrush. (Stand by for gratuitous pictures of my child).

 

"Wish I could Oil Pull"

Next up:  my recommendations for best natural toothpastes to go with your oil pulling mania.

Pulling the Daytime Oil- Update

Today is Day 6 of oil pulling and I gotta say.

I LOVE IT!

Out of all the crazy, kooky things I've tried this one may stick.

My teeth (along with the rest of me) took a beating during pregnancy and I wasn't sure what I was going to do. And then voila! On Day 3 JTS (unprompted) told me my teeth look whiter!

I've figured out how much coconut oil is comfortable for me (although the initial melting in the mouth still makes me a wee bit gaggy) and as long as I can swish it around in the shower = No problem.

Although my teeth look whiter and feel shinier and more "squeaky clean." I'm still brushing. I have the kind of bite/smile that attracts spinach to its white corners like dog hair to a white sofa. So I can't imagine that's going to go away anytime soon. And though I can still feel a bit of tooth fuzziness (plaque?) that people swear goes away - I flossed this morning for the first time in a week and nothing was there. I'm not sure where the leftovers are going but there was seriously nothing to floss.

Prit-tee amazing if you ask me.

I looked this up and you can use other oils like olive oil instead of coconut, but I've kind of gotten used to coconut oil (although sometimes I still really want to swallow it all or spit it all out).

So you heard it here 4th or 5th folks! Go out and get yerself some oil and start pulling!

Pulling the Daytime Oil: Day One

I'm oil pulling as I write this blog.

That sounds disgusting.

And so far it has been.

Confession: I hate brushing my teeth.

Don't worry, unlike when I was in 2nd grade and created a game to see if vigorously rubbing my teeth with a washcloth could trick my mom into thinking I brushed my teeth (answer = yes!), I actually do brush my teeth these days. I am a responsible adult after all. I brush 2x a day as recommended. Sometimes I floss. But I still don't like it and I have noticed that as I get older my teeth don't look as great as they used to. Years of red wine and coca-cola consumption probably haven't helped. But whitening products really irritate my mouth, regular toothpastes have some weird stuff in them, and natural toothpastes don't give me the clean feel I want.

Then last week I read about oil pulling over at Design Mom and being the quasi-hippie that I am I wanted to give it a whirl. Literally.

What is oil pulling you may ponder?

It's where instead of brushing and flossing your teeth you swish oil around in your mouth for 20 minutes. I've done reiki, brennan energy healing, ear candling, past life meditations, and washed my hair for 2 weeks in very expensive dirt - why not try some oil pulling for a week?

Since I'm currently a tightwad, this is the oil I'm stuck with for awhile. Blarg!

Right now I'm swishing coconut oil around in my mouth, although at this point, 18 minutes in, it feels more like coconut flavored spit. It does make me want to gag. Coconut oil is the present oil darling in health land - grabbing it's health baton from olive oil, canola oil, safflower oil and all the other oil fads that have come before it. But no matter how much everyone is going on and on about coconut products - you simply can't ignore the fact that coconut oil is pure, unadulterated saturated fat. The kind that yes, in moderation, may be o.k. but still will absolutely clog your arteries. Since I don't particularly care for the flavor of coconut why can't I just swish melted butter around my mouth?

Spit.

Oops, I just remembered you can't spit it down the drain because coconut oil will clog it right up. You have to spit in a trash can. Oh well, something to try for tomorrow.

So the rules for oil pulling as I understand them are:

1. Take 2 tsp (more or less) of coconut oil and let it melt in your mouth. Ed. note: This is where I really wanted to gag. 2 tsp was too much for me so I spit a lot out. Then I felt like I didn't have enough. So tomorrow I will try for 1 tsp. I also had to work very hard to not spit it out the whole time. Or swallow it.

2. Swish around good and strong for 20 minutes. Ed. note: I did this while taking a shower thinking it would keep my mind off things. It did, kinda, but I still had 8 minutes of swishing to go when I got out.

3. Spit in trash can. Ed note: Remember this for tomorrow!

4. Instantly go eat something to get the taste of coconut out of your mouth. Ed note: This might just be me.

I will keep you posted and look around to see if you can do this with other, less nauseating, less artery clogging oils. I will also keep you posted to see if my teeth seem stronger and whiter (reported perks). One immediate benefit I noticed is that my usually chapped-like-I spent-a-day-on-the Alps-lips do feel very soft for once in my life.