Simmonds Dental Center

Individuals adopting natural health therapies should be extra discerning since there are those which work and those that are actually mere hype. One of the most recent health product fads is coconut oil, which some claim to help people have whiter teeth. Through a technique called oil pulling, the oil is said to be effective in washing the grime out.

Oil pulling began as a technique in ancient Ayurvedic medicine, which was practiced some 2,500 years ago. Special oils were an essential health elixir for Ayurveda or traditional Indian medicine due to their cleansing properties.

So far, though, oil pulling as an effective teeth whitener is still open to debate. Research on coconut oil's purported benefits, for one, has yet to go past the preliminary stages. Given that oil is spat out and not swallowed, its effects on one’s diet do not seem to be an issue. If you're determined to try oil pulling, however, it wouldn’t be wise to solely rely on that method.

Professional dentists are still your best source when you want whiter teeth. An in-office whitening procedure performed by a dentist is effective in removing stains and any signs of discoloration. Medically-approved whitening agents have proven their efficacy time and again. As long as studies on oil pulling are few and far between, any claim, testimony, or clinical study about its supposed usefulness should be taken with a grain of salt.