Oil pulling (teeth, dentist, cavity, repair)

[SocalPitgal]

I just learned about something called Oil pulling, used to improve dental health and detox the body, whitens teeth..

Has anybody heard of it? Anybody tried it?

can do a search for the term "oil pulling".

One page I read pointed out that the teeth are alive. Everything our body is made of is alive, well except hair. But our teeth will repair themselves, if we can get rid of the bacteria and give them time, lots of brushing.

Just like bones, skin, the teeth can heal. Dentist don't want people to know that, bad for business.

Has anybody heard about teeth being able to heal? What do you think?

[AnonChick]

I just googled it and checked the wikipedia entry for it. It supposedly requires that you hold a tablespoon of veggie oil in your mouth for FIFTEEN MINUTES swishing it around...and then spit it out.

And, that you do this before eating.

I'm guessing that you'd do this before eating, because if you ate first, you'd throw up your meal.

That sounds like the most disgusting natural dental treatment I can think of.

Teeth are living structures within the mouth, to the extent that they contain a nerve. But teeth don't continue to grow once they've grown in. They won't repair themselves. And, a bone won't heal itself with lots of brushing and ridding them of bacteria. Also, you can't compare teeth and hair with skin. Your skin is an organ. Teeth and hair are not organs. Teeth are calcified tissues covered with enamel and attached to the jawbone with a root containing a nerve. Bones are bone with marrow, with no nerves attached, and not rooted to anything, but instead, connected with cartilege. Hair and nails are both primarily keratin, which is a fibrous protein.

Saying a tooth will repair itself because it's a living thing, is like saying a blind person's eyes will repair themselves because eyes are living things. Or a person with nerve damage to their ears will spontaneously be able to hear some day, because their ears are living things.

If you break a tooth, it won't heal itself. No amount of brushing and cleaning bacteria out of it will change this fact. If you have a cavity, it means the tooth has decayed to the point where there's a hole in it. You're right in that it's alive - the decay is most certainly alive, and if you don't put the kibosh on it ASAP, the decay will continue to widen that hole in the tooth until it has consumed it.

[asitshouldbe]

There was a thread last winter on oil pulling and I tried because I figured what could I lose? I did it for a week and it didn't do anything except make my mouth feel oily and taste gross. I wouldn't do it again.

[SocalPitgal]

Originally Posted by asitshouldbe

There was a thread last winter on oil pulling and I tried because I figured what could I lose? I did it for a week and it didn't do anything except make my mouth feel oily and taste gross. I wouldn't do it again.

I did a search for oil pulling and only one thread came up.. maybe wrong forum??

Thanks for the intel, I really don't see how oil could pull toxins from your body, one would think it would plug things up..

[asitshouldbe]

Search for, oil pulling therapy, by max's mama.
I looked into the oil pulling a little more and I tried the sesame oil that is recommened, I gave it a week to see if my teeth looked any whiter or if I felt any better, just as I thought, nothing changed.
It was hard to swish the oil for 15 minutes, I started before my shower and finished after blow drying my hair.
It was kind of gross, of course the oil became foamy with all the swishing and mixing with saliva, but the worst was my breath STUNK and my mouth tasted gross for a few hours after, good thing I didn't have that much people contact until later in the day.

[justchrissy]

i did oil pulling for fifteen minutes each morning for about two weeks. my gum line receded a bit, and my mouth actually felt healthier. i stopped because i lost an old filling. it started crumbling out after like a week. oil pulling is known to cause this.