Oil pulling.

Swishing oil to improve your health?

What?!?!

So here's the deal.  I have a cavity.  Well, let me be clear, I have two cavities (one that needs a ceric) and a dying nerve in a front tooth where I'm going to need a root canal!

What is this? Congratulations on surviving the first year of motherhood, you've jacked up your teeth and need some serious work!! Great. Thanks.

The truth is, I did jack up my teeth. For years I went us diagnosed with Celiac Disease so that by the time I found out what was wrong with me my body had already been lacking nutrients. Then, I spent years trying to heal my body so that I would stop being malnourished and be able to properly absorb nutrients. Add to that 9 months of pregnancy, sick, where I was often eating in the middle of the night and not always brushing my teeth. Then I was breast feeding and those first few months I was STARVING all hours of the day and night, thus again eating and not brushing my teeth. So, I guess you could say, while not all directly my fault, I had this bill of health from the dentist coming.

So, back to oil pulling.  I'm kinda crunchy (breast feeding, cloth diapering, eat predominantly organic, drink raw milk, etc.) so I belong to a Facebook group of crunchy moms and one of them mentioned oil pulling to reverse cavities. Say what?!? I had a dentist appointment scheduled for the following week, so I began researching and figured why not give it a shot.

The premise is:
Swish coconut oil in your mouth for 15-20 minutes in the morning (when taking a shower/getting dressed has been easiest for me).
Spit it out in the trash (so you don't clog your pipes).
Rinse your mouth out with water.
Brush your teeth (working on a homemade toothpaste now).
Continue on with your day.

I'm also trying to consume raw butter on a more regular basis and take my cod liver oil more faithfully as per the recommendation of The Paleo Mama. ***One note, I'm taking Carlson's cod liver oil because Blue Ice is just too dang expensive for this SAHM. :) Hoping I still gain some of the benefits.

According to what I've read, swishing this oil and maintaining optimal nutrition should help to remineralize my teeth.

So, I canceled my dentist appointment and figured I'd try this for a few months and see what happens.

Already, I've noticed a change and it's only been a week! My front tooth that is going to need a root canal had darkened (that's what alerted me to have the dentist check it out) and initially the dentist didn't notice anything wrong, so it had been darker than the rest of my teeth for a few years. Well, after just ONE WEEK of oil pulling (swishing) the tooth is almost the same color as the rest of my teeth! Woot woot!!!

Now to see what it does for the cavities...I'll keep you posted.

For now...

Have you heard of this?

Is it something you or someone you know has tried?