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Oil Pulling
I'm not giving you advice here, I'm only explaining what I'm experimenting with.
OK, a few weeks back I was watching some videos about tartar removal via blasting it with high-pressure water. On the one hand it made me realize that I have tartar, and that it will separate from teeth and it has to go. On the other hand it made me realize that harsh-and-fast tartar removal is not good. I believe that a slower, gentler method would allow the teeth and gums to recover slowly over time, and not be left bare naked, weak and loose. Many people in those videos lost the teeth that had the heaviest tartar load!
I decided, after watching these videos, it was time to get proactive. As I've said in my updates, my gums are better... but not all the way better. I think that my tartar is blocking my progress.
I started watching videos about oil pulling again to try to figure out why it never works out for me. As I said farther up the thread, I think I needed to fiddle with my method because my mouth got sore. (my old method: brushing, flossing, oil pulling and then hot-salt-water swishing/gargling to cleanse). Anyways, I saw a comment on the web that said this: "If you put a tooth covered with tartar in oil overnight, the tartar would fall off in about 24 hours. So, you should brush and floss AFTER oil pulling." Huh!
I can take the pick end of the flossing picks (see picture below) and sort of gently scrape off a small amount of tartar right after oil pulling. I don't go hog wild with this, I want slow change. It does seem like oil pulling softens tartar. I have noticed that if you rub the pick gently on a glassy tooth area this is no "sound" but if you rub the pick on tartar you will hear and feel a bit of a grinding sensation. The holistic dentist once told me that there are tiny little "stalagmites and stalagtites" and this is what keeps your gums from glomming back on in dental disease. You can feel the rough areas with your tongue. If you rub the pick on plaque (the precursor to tartar) after oil pulling, it is creamy and slimy and removes easily.
And, as usual, I do think that oil pulling makes my teeth less yellow. I've always thought that. Vitamin A pigments are oil soluble. It makes me wonder if we should apply oil to problem skin areas too, leaving it for 20 minutes and then removing the oil. Oil cleansing is popular in some beauty communities.
My current method is: A half hour after breakfast swish some water around just to get rid of food particles. Coconut oil pull. Spit in the trash. Do a very quick salt-water back-of-the-throat gargle because I hate how the oil feels back there. Utilize the pick gently and carefully on any plaque and tartar on the teeth and in spaces between. Just a quick once over in rough areas. Floss. Carefully and gently brush utilizing a magnifying mirror. Be careful, as if you are painting every surface of the teeth. It actually takes some hand-eye coordination. Tartar forms in the hard-to-get-to places. Give the toothpaste a hard swish/gargle around the mouth before spitting it out. Floss and brush carefully again at bed time.
Please post here if this helps you too!
Hey I'm back to comment on my experiment. I am very happy with my progress, although I'm not finished with getting rid of my tartar. I would say I have 1/3 less tartar at this point. Here is my take: The base problem is that the teeth are rough, and I believe they will smooth as VA lowers. You can run your tongue over your teeth and feel that some are smooth like glass while others are rough. Notice how happy the gums are near glassy teeth! Rough is wrong and is what causes gum disease. Plaque forms on the rough areas and then crystalizes into tartar. I want to remove my tartar and plaque because I think it is slowing my progress and it isn't good (I don't think!). (I suppose a case might be made that plaque and tartar are helpful in some way but that isn't my current thinking). It seems that oil pulling is Ayurveda's answer to better mouth health.
Tiny bits of tartar come off each day with the gentle use of the pick (shown in prior post) (say the size of an 'o' on a cell phone screen). Occasionally a larger bit will dislodge during flossing, and a tiny bit of blood might be shed. Other than that the progress is slow, mostly blood free and pain free (unlike a dental visit).
Excuses and inconsistencies. Oil pulling sometimes is better than never. Longer may be better than shorter but shorter is better than never. You will get better at it over time (like any skill). If you feel uncomfortable, spit! Gentler is better. Oil pulling harder can cause issues (probably some of why my mouth was getting sore). Be nice to yourself. I have particular problems with almost-involuntary back-of-the mouth-little swallows because of post-nasal drip. But I haven't died yet and the majority of the oil stays in the mouth.
Germs are going to be stirred up. Before you spit out the oil, fill a tall glass with very-warm-salt-water and use this instead of cold-bathroom-water to swish while you clean your teeth after oil pulling. I think this will help with germs. Also, it will keep things loose for cleanup.
I can't help but wonder if the impetiego I'm battling right now was brought on by tooth cleaning. It has occurred to me that we might also use the salt water to wipe facial skin after oil pulling. Care should be taken to try to keep germ-spreading to a minimum. Think like a dental hygienist!
I have noticed that when I oil pull for a long time the oil eventually "gloms together" suddenly. I think it saponifies?
This glomming of the oil makes me think of milk-washing! (in milk-washing, the creation of curds draws impurities from the surrounding liquids)
People encourage long oil-pulling sessions, and I wonder if that curdling is useful? When "curds" form in milk washing, impurities go into the curds. Is it the same with saponification? Does soap retain this ability to absorb impurities, and that is why it was invented?
Still, even if you don't end up saponifying I believe that just being exposed to oil helps turn tartar back into plaque for removal, and that impurities in the teeth and mouth (such as carotenes?) will go into the oil (at least the fat-soluble impurities).
https://ggenereux.blog/discussion/topic/milk-wash-a-way-of-purifying-liquids/
Hey it's been 3 months. I'm still on this kick! I haven't done it every day, but at least 3 or more times per week. Today I saw the front of a tooth I was really worried about let go of two very stubborn specks of tartar. Gums have are glomming on here and there and going paler. Progress is being made.
I have one large piece of tartar that I'm kind of scared about because it's obviously about half way to falling off! But it's not sore or anything.
I do think that you have to fix these teeth from the inside at the same time with the lowering of the VA etc.
I switched up my routine just a little lately.
First: Oil pull, grab a hot salty glass of water, spit.
Second: Brush teeth, Floss
Third: go over the stubborn and hard to reach areas very gently with the pick.
I also rub some of the salt water on my skin around my mouth and face afterwards, because I think this whole thing can release some baddies.
Interesting to read your experience with oil pulling. Never tried it myself. One noticeable effect of low a for me has been stronger teeth. There was a period of sensitivity a month or two in but that gave way to the feeling of strong, smooth teeth. I'm very hands-off, however. I brush with baking soda once a day (before bed) with a hog's hair brush. A friend heard this and told me he had a friend who brushed with baking soda, but mixed in hydrogen peroxide to whiten his teeth. It whitened them, alright, before they started melting.
Am all about baking soda too. I think it is easier to rinse and gargle with than salt water.
Ok I've decided that the answer of "should you brush before or after oil pulling?" is: YES
Lately I've been thinking it makes the work much easier if you do a quick brush, floss, oil pull, quick brush, then use the flosser pick to clean up around the base of teeth and in nooks and crannies that the brush and floss doesn't go.
My schedule is every other day.
I've also decided to do a little thumb pulling during this time (see the post about Oscar Patel on the adult palate expansion thread). In a nutshell, this is when you put your thumbs on your upper palate(not your teeth) and place a little pressure on the palate sort of diagonally outward. Watch his videos. I have only begun to scratch the surface of his body of work. I wonder if he also talks about oil pulling...