Kartoffel
Member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2017
- Messages
- 1,199
Believing myself to be invincible, I neglected by dental health a bit over the last years, just using a bit of peppermint and water for fresh breath. I recently discovered that even a nutritious diet doesn't completely protect you from dental problems, and was a little shocked to see that more than half of the back of my lower incisors was covered with plaque.
Ray's suggestion of using coconut oil pulling immediately came to my mind, and I looked for some evidence supporting his advice. This study here showes that just using coconut oil once per day for 30 days decreased the amount of plaque by more than half, and was at least as effective as Chlorhexidin, an antispetic most commonly used for this purpose.
Effect of coconut oil in plaque related gingivitis — A preliminary report
Moreover, this one showed that coconut oil reduces the concentration of S. mutans, considered as the most cariogenic of the oral microflora, also by more than half. It is involved in creating the initial biofilm that leads to carious lesions, and is present in saliva and plaque. Coconut oil halfed it's concentration in plaque mass as well as saliva.
Encouraged by these studies, I went to the supermarket, bought a few kilograms of extra coconut oil and used it thrice a day, thinking that this should yield some results, if using it only once was already very effective in these studies. Now, 25 days later I can say that my enthusiasm was justified - the plaque on my teeth is almost completely gone, and on top of that I don't feel any sensitivity to cold drinks any longer. I wanted to make some before-after pictures, but found it difficulty to find a proper angle that captures the back if my incisors.
Ray's suggestion of using coconut oil pulling immediately came to my mind, and I looked for some evidence supporting his advice. This study here showes that just using coconut oil once per day for 30 days decreased the amount of plaque by more than half, and was at least as effective as Chlorhexidin, an antispetic most commonly used for this purpose.
Effect of coconut oil in plaque related gingivitis — A preliminary report
Moreover, this one showed that coconut oil reduces the concentration of S. mutans, considered as the most cariogenic of the oral microflora, also by more than half. It is involved in creating the initial biofilm that leads to carious lesions, and is present in saliva and plaque. Coconut oil halfed it's concentration in plaque mass as well as saliva.
Encouraged by these studies, I went to the supermarket, bought a few kilograms of extra coconut oil and used it thrice a day, thinking that this should yield some results, if using it only once was already very effective in these studies. Now, 25 days later I can say that my enthusiasm was justified - the plaque on my teeth is almost completely gone, and on top of that I don't feel any sensitivity to cold drinks any longer. I wanted to make some before-after pictures, but found it difficulty to find a proper angle that captures the back if my incisors.