Here’s a question.  When oil pulling, does it matter what kind of oil you use?

Yes and no.  I’ll explain…

Any oil is better than no oil.  Plaque’s bio-film is oil soluble and it doesn’t care, it’s going to break down whether you use coconut, sunflower, olive, walnut, or whatever’s in your pantry.   And don’t forget about your mucosa tissues, they crave oil and they too, don’t care, just give ’em the oil.

That being said, when I was formulating Black Oil Mouthwash, I wanted to make it extra special and I chose these oils, in equal portions, for the golden trio:

Sesame Oil

For thousands of years people in India and Asia have been swishing with sesame oil. Evidence has shown that even the ancient Egyptians swished with the slippery stuff.  Did they know that sesame oil contains potent levels of anti-oxidants, that it’s mineral-rich, and that the high levels of vitamin K help heal damaged gums? Or did they just use sesame because that was geographically feasible?   Either way, it turned out to be a wonderful choice.

Coconut Oil

This oil wins the popularity contest for “most swished with” on internet blogs.  It’s everywhere.  People are out there putting spoonfuls of solid oil in their mouths, waiting for it to melt, and then swishing with it.  Well, good for them and their teeth.  But for me, I’ll pass.  I need a liquid to swish with and if you’re anything like me, you do too.  However, not to be overlooked, is MCT coconut oil, a solid alternative to solid coconut oil.

Black Oil Mouthwash’s MCT oil is fractionated coconut oil, which means that it was processed (naturally) to remove the coconut solids, leaving only the light-weight goodness that’s so much easier to swish with.  This terrific oil is anti-microbial and anti-fungal, reducing yeast and bacterial growth, and it also contains iron to help transport oxygen to cells.

Avocado Oil

When I discovered the wonderful properties of avocado oil for swishing, my search for the perfect trio was complete.  The taste is light, but the oil is rich.  Avocado oil is well known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.  It’s high vitamin E levels, help soothe and heal irritated gums.  It contains chlorophyll, a natural source of magnesium which is important for tooth enamel and the prevention of gum disease.

A Powerful Combo

Black Oil Mouthwash’s exquisite oil blend is a triple-threat to plaque and gum disease and you’ll feel it the very first time you swish.  Now take all that oily goodness and add in activated charcoal, plaque-busting xylitol, and essential oils, and you’ll get a mouthwash that’s worthy of praise to anyone who will listen. Go ahead and show off that great smile!

Swishing with coconut oil, it’s all the rage. Look it up, you’ll see it’s helping people with all kinds of illnesses by detoxifying their mouths and bodies. Some say it’s hooey, and maybe it is, but my gums are loving it and my teeth are definitely whiter since having started doing it.

The problem is that it takes 20 minutes of swishing with coconut or sesame oil to be truly effective for whole-body detoxification. Yes, that seems excessive, but here’s the theory why:

The mucosa tissues of your body are oil-permeable and when oil is present in your mouth, there is an exchange going on through the tissues. It is believed that as you’re swishing the oil through your teeth, that sucking action is also pulling toxins from your blood through your cheek tissues (because of the oil permeability).  20 minutes is approximately the time for a full cycle of blood to circulate past your cheeks, so that it’s thoroughly filtered and spit out when you’re done.

Let’s talk about another thing most people don’t mention about oil pulling. The taste and the gagging! I’m a huge fan of coconut oil, I use it whenever I can. I put it on toast, cook with it, and smear it all over my body when it’s warranted. That said, putting a glob of it in my mouth, waiting for it to melt, and then swishing with it, YUCK! I tried. I really tried. I’m a trooper, but if it’s something that I want or need to do every day, it better be easy or it will fall by the wayside like so many other health trends I wanted to stick with.

Okay, so now you get why it’s 20 minutes. Is it a waste of time for you? Probably not if you’re looking to detoxify your mouth or body. But here’s a another question. Are you going to keep doing it if it’s not pleasant?

I kept it up for about a week before I couldn’t take it anymore. I began to dread it. Even when I melted the coconut oil first, it still made me want to gag. That’s when I added the sweet xylitol and boy did that help!  I read about so many wonderful dental properties of xylitol, I was eager to add it.

Swishing was getting easier, my gums were looking good, but I still wanted whiter teeth. That’s when the charcoal powder came into the picture. To add to my new oil pulling routine, I was going to dip my toothbrush in charcoal powder and brush. Looking forward to my new smile!

So with my charcoal-dipped toothbrush in hand, I got to whitening. I was excited and the results were good. What wasn’t good, was the big, black, splattery mess all over my bathroom sink and counter. Not the worst problem in the world, but again, if I gotta clean the bathroom every time, this task too, might fall to the wayside. And it did, fast.

Lightbulb moment, put ’em together, so you don’t have to clean the bathroom.   That was going well, then I started experimenting and researching different oils, including essential oils. Measurements and ratios came into the mix and Black Oil Mouthwash was born.

The unintentional result was a mouthwash that felt like it was scrubbing between my teeth as I used it. The initial texture of the xylitol granules, before they dissolve, combined with the texture of the charcoal powder, makes for a luxurious texture, that thins as you swish.

The whitening effect of this combination was remarkably more effective than plain coconut oil. I even did some experiments testing different stained objects shaken in both oils for comparison. Every time, my new mouthwash beat out plain oil.

Another unintentional result was that I found I could swish for less time (when I’m not looking to detox my whole body) and still get great results. If I forgot to floss, my gums weren’t achy. My plaque build-up slowed dramatically. I used to be a dental hygienists, so I have all my tools to clean my own plaque. I struggled to find some, trust me, this is unusual for me.

Black Oil Mouthwash has proven to myself and others, that your oil pulling routine certainly can be more efficient!

.Swishing with the oil just might be the healthiest thing you do for your mouth.  Oil pulling, as it’s commonly called, is the daily, self-care routine of sucking and pulling oil through your teeth for (ideally) twenty minutes.  Yes, that’s a scary amount of time!  But hopefully after you understand what the heck it’s doing in there, you might be a little more patient.  Besides, it’s not really that bad because you can perform a multitude of tasks while you swish.

There’s two things in your mouth that you need to focus on.
Your teeth and your mucosa tissues, a.k.a  gums, inner cheeks, tongue

The first thing to know is the mucosa tissues of your body are oil-permeable. That means they absorb oil easily.  Just like your regular skin (epidermis) , the cells need moisturizing or they get dry, damaged, cracked, or worse.

Mucosa Tissue Aborbs Oil!

Mucosa tissue is the “go-between” of the outside of your body and the inside.   All access to our innards must go through some sort of mucosa lined orifice.  Whenever outside forces like food, allergens, or smoke try to enter our body, they must go past mucosa.  Your food travels down a mucosa-lined esophagus, to a mucosa-lined stomach, through mucosa-lined intestines, and out your mucosa-lined sphincter.   Wonder why people who eat a lot of olive oil have a lower incidence of colon cancer, hmmm? Maybe a well-oiled intestine can take the credit.  Another example is when we inhale dust particles or allergens, they go up our mucosa-lined nose, through our mucosa-lined sinuses, into our mucosa-lined lungs. There’s a whole discussion to be had about eliminating seasonal allergies with oil (I did it), but that’s a blog post for another day.

So now let’s talk about your gums.  They go through a lot of abuse and they really try to hang in there, but if the tissues are not getting oiled regularly, you will eventually notice.  Unfortunately, your saliva hides this problem from you by making everything appear moist and nice, but your gums don’t really absorb water or saliva, it just makes them slippery.  Imagine if your hands were dry, chapped, even cracked and put them under some nice, warm water for a bit, they would feel soft and smooth.  That is the same way saliva is masking your dry gum problem and you won’t know it until you see symptoms of redness, puffiness, a tight feeling or soreness, recession, and bleeding.  Remember, every single cell in our body requires oil to maintain optimum health.

Okay, you understand why mucosa needs oil, but now let’s explore the swishing part

You may need to be swishing right now to realize this, but pulling oil through your teeth creates an enormous suction force in your mouth.  Go ahead and try it, you may never have thought about just how much actual suctioning is going on, but this creates a powerful vacuum.  Imagine, if you will, trying to give yourself a hickey on your forearm.  That same amount of sucking is going on in your mouth while you swish, bringing blood closer to the surface.  But it’s not only blood coming to the surface, it’s blood’s toxins, and they are being drawn out of your blood stream into your mouth.  That is why holistic health professionals and ancient rituals suggest twenty minutes, apparently, it takes that long for a full cycle of blood to circulate past your cheeks.  And that is also why we spit when we are done.

Let’s Not Forget About the Teeth

Did you know your teeth are porous?  Yep, microscopic pores all over them and these tiny holes fill up with bacterial debris. Since oil is capable of breaking down bacteria’s outer shell leading to its destruction, surely swishing with that strong suction force for twenty minutes should be enough to get them super clean.  Swishing also does a great job of removing debris, bacteria, and plaque from in between your teeth.  Adding activated charcoal to the mix would make the pulling effect even stronger, as the charcoal is a sort of absorptive magnet for impurities too.

There’s also some research out there showing your that teeth are capable of absorbing and releasing nutrients, so it is best to choose an oil that has a good vitamin and mineral ratio to be on the safe side.  Some good choices are coconut, pumpkin seed, sesame, sunflower, and avocado.

Spit it All Out

I certainly don’t have to remind anyone to spit when they are finished, but the question remains.  Do you rinse afterwards?  I will admit, I am an oil junky.  I love the stuff so much,  I even put it in my sinuses to cure my polyps (gently with a q-tip).  So I will always choose the route of keeping the oil on my tissues for as long as I can.  I would suggest just spitting really well and if you must rinse, try to do so sparingly and don’t make the water’s temperature too warm.  You want to leave some oil residue  on your teeth and tissues.

I find it funny when some people say they don’t believe in oil pulling.  To me that’s like saying I don’t believe in moisturizing my skin.  The benefits of oiling all of our bodily tissues can not be understated.  You may argue with the amount of time to sped doing it, but you can’t deny the wonderful effects oil has on our bodies!