oil pulling
{{short description|Alternative medical practice without proven benefit, in which oil is "swished" around the mouth.}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
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Oil pulling is an alternative medical practice in which an edible oil is swished around the mouth for a period of time and then spat out, similar to mouthwash.{{cite journal |pmid=29651060|journal=British Dental Journal |volume=224|issue=7|page=470|title=Bad science: Oil pulling|author=King A|date=13 April 2018|doi=10.1038/sj.bdj.2018.281|s2cid=4808148 }} It originates from Ayurvedic medicine.
Practitioners of oil pulling claim it is capable of improving oral health.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/03/20/everyone-is-talking-about-oil-pulling-but-does-this-health-practice-actually-work/ |date=20 March 2014 |title=Everyone is talking about 'oil pulling.' But does this health practice actually work? |last=Butler |first=Bethonia |newspaper=The Washington Post }} Its promoters claim it works by pulling out toxins, but there is no credible evidence to support this.
History
Oil pulling stems from traditional Ayurvedic medicine,Puri, Nividita (2015) "Holistic Approach of Oil Pulling in the Dental World: a literature review". The Dental Assistant 20–23{{cite web|url=http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/news/20140418/oil-swishing-craze-snake-oil-or-all-purpose-remedy |last=Bronson Gray |first=Barbara |title=Oil-Swishing Craze |date=18 April 2014 |website=WebMD}}{{cite web |last=Cheshire |first=Sara |date=6 August 2014 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/06/health/oil-pulling |title=Does oil pulling work? |website=CNN |publisher=Turner Broadcasting System}} whose practitioners may use sunflower oil, olive oil, or other herbal oils instead of coconut oil.{{cite web |url=http://gazette.com/live-well-oil-pulling-draws-fans-skeptics-in-colorado-springs/article/1535792 |title=Live Well: Oil pulling draws fans, skeptics in Colorado Springs |last=Mulson |first=Jennifer |date=19 August 2014 |website=The Gazette |location=Colorado Springs, Colorado |access-date=5 September 2014 |archive-date=23 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823044203/http://gazette.com/live-well-oil-pulling-draws-fans-skeptics-in-colorado-springs/article/1535792 |url-status=dead }}
Criticism
There is no high-quality research on oil pulling,{{cite web|last1=Novella|first1=Steven|author-link1=Steven Novella|title=Oil Pulling Your Leg|url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/oil-pulling-your-leg/|website=Science Based Medicine|access-date=22 April 2017|date=12 March 2014|quote=Oil pulling is a suggestive misnomer, implying that something bad is being pulled from the mouth (toxins and bacteria). What little scientific evidence exists shows that it is probably not as effective as standard mouth wash, and what benefit it has is likely entirely due to the mechanical act of swishing to remove particles and bacteria from teeth and gums ... Oil pulling for general health or any other indication is pure pseudoscience. Detox claims are based on nothing, as are all detox claims. There is no evidence or plausible rationale to recommend oil pulling for any indication other than as a poor substitute for oral care.}}{{cite journal | vauthors = Gbinigie O, Onakpoya I, Spencer E, McCall MacBain M, Heneghan C | title = Effect of oil pulling in promoting oro dental hygiene: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials | journal = Complementary Therapies in Medicine | volume = 26 | pages = 47–54 | date = June 2016 | pmid = 27261981 | doi = 10.1016/j.ctim.2016.02.011 | type = Review | quote = To the best of our knowledge this is the first systematic review assessing the effect of oil pulling on oro dental hygiene. The results should be interpreted with caution because of the small number of included studies. Furthermore, the included studies were not adequately powered, and small sample sized studies could lead to misleading results }} no understanding of a possible mechanism explaining how it would work,{{cite journal |doi=10.4103/2155-8213.122675 |title=Perspectives of oil pulling therapy in dental practice |journal=Dental Hypotheses |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=131–134 |year=2013 |last1=Lakshmi |first1=T |last2=Rajendran |first2=R |last3=Krishnan |first3=Vidya |doi-access=free }} and no evidence that it provides any benefit.{{cite journal | vauthors = Kensche A, Reich M, Kümmerer K, Hannig M, Hannig C | title = Lipids in preventive dentistry | journal = Clinical Oral Investigations | volume = 17 | issue = 3 | pages = 669–685 | date = April 2013 | pmid = 23053698 | doi = 10.1007/s00784-012-0835-9 | s2cid = 30589353 | type = Review }} The American Dental Association agrees that there are no reliable scientific studies supporting the practice of oil pulling for any benefit to oral hygiene or overall wellbeing.{{cite web |title=Oil Pulling |url=https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/o/oil-pulling |publisher=American Dental Association}}
The Canadian Dental Association assessed the practice of oil pulling in 2014 stating: "We sense oil pulling won't do any harm, we're not convinced there are any particular benefits to it."{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/oil-pulling-ancient-practice-now-a-modern-trend-1.2664794|author=Anna Lazowski|date=5 June 2014|title=Oil pulling: Ancient practice now a modern trend|publisher=CBC News|access-date=10 June 2014}}
See also
References
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Further reading
- {{Skeptoid | id=4409 | number= 409| title= Oil Pulling| date= April 8, 2014 | access-date=}}
{{Naturopathy}}