Day 1. Did it after breakfast. Oops! A couple things other people haven't mentioned: the oil (coconut) starts to taste bad the closer you get to the allotted time, like... Milk on its way out. Also, my TONGUE felt really really clean! Gums had no visible change. Teeth whiteness, no visible change (of course). I did brush my teeth first, I'm not sure if you're supposed to or not...
Day 2. Did it first thing in the morning. DIDN'T brush my teeth first. Tasted WAY grosser towards the end than the first day. I choose to look at it as a good sign. It's weird. It's really weird... But my mouth does feel cleaner. I don't know if this has to do with oil pulling, but I've had a headache all day, and my throat feels sore.
Day 3. I think I might be sold. I know I know, ALREADY?!? But this morning I woke up sick still, and my gums were sore, so then I brushed my teeth and did the pulling and they STOPPED HURTING!!! It felt great. I know some people get the gag reflex from the coconut oil, but it's been fine for me... So whatever. Gums are less sore feeling, but not necessarily a lighter pink or healthier looking yet. Teeth are DEFinitely not whiter. We're getting together the ingredients for remineralizing toothpaste, so I'll add that to this whole thing when we do.
Day 4. Okay, so full blown sick with cough this morning. Decided to still pull, but after 12 minutes I started to cough, accidentally swallowed some of my oil, choked and threw up. Freaking fantastic. Ugh. SO, I only got 12 minutes in, and I wish someone had posted a warning about doing this when ill. Side note: gums are starting to feel amazing... Teeth still the same as far as I can tell.
Day 5. No pulling, still coughing. Day 6. No pulling. Day 7. No pulling.
Day 8. I pulled today, first thing in the morning before drinking anything, after brushing. But only for 15 minutes. It felt great!! So, you're supposed to rinse with warm water three times after, but today I rinsed twice with warm and the final with cold, and I could feel the water GOING BETWEEN EVERY TOOTH!!! Something I literally haven't felt in years. Like I said, my teeth are too crooked to floss very well. Ew! Sorry. Anyway, gums, pinker! Less sore! They even feel... Like... TIGHTER against my teeth. Firmer. Teeth, I THINK I noticed them being whiter for the first time today. We'll see. Tongue feeling cleaner too! YOH can notice the difference breath-wise at the end of the day on days that I do oil pulling too. Hm.
Days 9+10. Pulled 15 minutes first thing in the morning, rinsed and finished with brushing with the remineralizing toothpaste. Mouth feeling good gums and tongue-wise... Definitely healthier... But I have a tooth I'm concerned about. Next week I'll be adding fermented cod liver oil to this regime, hoping to strengthen my teeth enough so that they don't hurt when I eat really hard foods (like kettle chips), and get Pru-Pru's top primary incisors completely opaque instead of half transparent like they are.
Days 11-14. Yay! I've been faithful! Even on Sunday when we needed to get ready for church.
Okay, so now that I've been doing this for two weeks, here are my conclusions: I am totally sold! It is WEIRD. But you get used to it! After the first few days using the coconut oil solid at first I started putting the jar under hot water in the sink (it literally takes like ten seconds to heat enough for you to pull), and that's a lot better, ick-factor-wise. Gums are definitely feeling better overall, that was the first change I noticed and the goodness has continued. If you "pull" hard enough I really think this is as good as flossing and your gums don't accidentally get damaged. Tongue is SO clean feeling every day after I do this! I've always been a serious tongue brusher, but it's never felt so clean as pulling makes it feel. And like I said, hubby noticed how nice my breath is, even first thing in the morning. Teeth are slightly whiter. I was really skeptical of this one. I DON'T think they feel less sensitive, but I haven't started using the fermented cod liver oil yet, so we'll do an update after that, but they are slightly whiter. Hm! I'm going to continue this and write another update with all the other dental changes I've made, but that's what I have to report so far.
Interesting. I have heard of this, but never tried it. My mom is a dental hygienist, so I get all the dental info all the time from her :-) Are you supposed to brush your teeth or just do the pulling? I have really sensitive teeth, so I wonder how it would effect them.
ReplyDeleteI don't know! Some people say brush, some say don't... So at this point I oil pull first and then brush with plain water and rinse with Epsom salt water after. I've had tooth sensitivity and weakness for literally years. This absolutely has made a difference for me. And it's been three days since I started taking Fermented Cod Liver Oil and I have noticed a SIGNIFICANT difference in sensitivity since then too. I did "before" pictures and after six months of doing all this stuff I'll take "after" ones and compare. I really like it though.
ReplyDeleteIt is the healthiest thing I have tried till date. The first major benefit that can be seen after oil pulling is an improvement in oral health. It whitens teeth without chemicals as the oil is a natural antibiotic. It reduces inflammation of the gums and keeps teeth safe from infections as well. It reduces plaque induced gingivitis and even controls and curbs bad breath. Read: Benefits of Oil Pulling
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