Role of Coconut Oil Pulling On Oral Health – An Overview

Abstract

Oil pulling (extended mouth swishing) is a long-established ancient herbal practice that includes swishing of oil for a prolonged period in the mouth for maintaining better oral environment and providing systemic healthy effects. There are number of edible oils which are used in this therapy but the scientific evidence is limited. Recent literature shows that coconut is one of the most popular pulling oil amongst all. Coconut oil is effective against many oral and systemic conditions and also in bacterial and fungal infections because of the presence of lauric acid which is a major fatty acid component. This article reviews the literature regarding the mechanism, composition, benefits and scientific clinical studies related to coconut oil pulling therapy on oral health. KEY WORDS: oil pulling, coconut oil, lauric acid, monolaurin HOW TO CITE: Saher F, Hosein M, Ahmed J. Role of coconut oil pulling on oral health -an overview. J Pak Dent Assoc 2018;27(3):94-99.

Evaluation of Coconut Oil Pulling vs. Whitening Mouthwash as Home Teeth Whitening Methods

“…The cleaning action of coconut oil pulling might explain the slight teeth whitening which reported in this study within the Coconut Oil Swish group only after 2 weeks of use. In one week of use, the whitening effectiveness was insignificant which co-accordance with the fact that natural oil pulling therapy needs more time to get an effect (25) . It was interesting to find tooth health care brands that used coconut oil in its products; some whitening toothpaste contains coconut oil within its' composition as e.g., "Crest 3D White toothpaste with Coconut Oil"; mentioning foaming and cleaning benefits of the oil.…”

“…In oil pulling, the oil is swished around the oral cavity in morning preferred on empty stomach for about ten to fifteen minutes and concerning must be done to avoid swallowing the oil. The commonly used oils include coconut, sunflower, sesame, corn, palm, soya bean, and rice bran; coconut oil is consisting of 92% saturated acids and lauric acid represent about 50% of these saturated acids (24,25) . In ancient Indian, it was traditionally believed that the harmful constituents are expelled from the oral cavity when oil is swished (26) .…”

“…Participants reported that these symptoms occurred during the use of the mouthwash when it was in contact with the teeth and surrounding soft tissues and subsided as soon as spitting out the bleaching agent. This results could be attributed to the nature of the coconut oil; as it is well established that the main advantages of oil pulling as a traditional therapy in the oral and medical field is due to its natural origin, simplicity, pleasant taste, safe, no allergic reactions, low expense, and promote patient compliance (24,25) . Additionally, coconut has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory characteristics attributed to the existence of lauric acid, and can be used as emollient and moisturizer (27) .…”

The effect of oil pulling with coconut oil to improve dental hygiene and oral health: A systematic review

“…[ 33 ] 2019 Review Swathi and Maragathavalli [ 34 ] 2018 Review Seher et al. [ 35 ] 2017 Incorrect intervention Mathewand Sankari [ 36 ] 2014 Review Lakshmi et al. [ 37 ] 2013 Review Mittal et al.…”

Are We Nuts Over Coconuts? Studying the Effects of Coconut Oil on Low-Density Lipoprotein and Cardiovascular Diseases: A Systematic Review

“…The processing of oils can change the overall content, chemical structure, and eventual effects on the metabolism [ 10 ]. Coconut oil is also composed of: lauric acid - 49%, myristic acid - 20%, palmitic - 7%, capric - 6%, caprylic - 9%, oleic - 4%, steric - 3%, linoleic - 2%, and caproic acid - 1% [ 15 ], as can be seen in Figure 2 .…”