I tried oil pulling for a month—here’s what actually changed

What no one warned me about was the jaw fatigue. Oil pulling is deceptively active. It’s not just holding the oil in your mouth — it’s a full facial workout. For someone who got smacked on the jaw with a hockey stick in school during a match (a formative moment that lives rent-free in my temporomandibular joint), this wasn’t ideal. Around week two, I took it up to seven minutes and my jaw started protesting. I powered through like a martyr of marginal gains.

The benefits of oil pulling read like a wellness fever dream: whiter teeth, fresher breath, reduced gum inflammation, improved digestion, clearer skin, sharper cognition. I approached them with caution. According to Mumbai-based dentist Dr Tina Chhatpar, oil pulling can be a helpful add-on but not a replacement for actual oral hygiene. “It’s a great supplementary treatment,” she says, especially for conditions like gingivitis and periodontitis. “Gum diseases can be caused due to bacterial infection, so the anti-bacterial qualities in sesame or coconut oil can help considerably.”

While it did not reach ‘disease’ level, my gums haven’t been happy lately. Years of nicotine and caffeine addiction on top of rage-brushing my demons away every morning had started to show their signs. By the end of week three, my gums seemed calmer (I consciously slowed down my brushing practice as well). Less redness. Less puffiness.

My teeth didn’t look drastically whiter. And they’re not meant to. “Coconut oil will not whiten teeth or reverse tooth decay,” Dr Chhatpar clarifies. “There may be improvement of stains,” she says, but it’s not a substitute for actual dental treatments. Oil pulling won’t erase your sins but it might gently scrub around the edges.

Dr Kutteri explains, “Oil has a property of reducing inflammation… this is another reason why it could be good for cardiac health and supporting brain function and better cognition by stimulating the nervous system.” He adds that improved circulation in the mouth can create a sense of warmth, which may help drain the sinuses and relieve headache symptoms. My own headaches, usually courtesy of stress, dehydration and overenthusiastic ponytails, didn’t quite vanish, but maybe it was too soon to tell.

Wellness rarely offers quick fixes and oil pulling doesn’t pretend to be one.

There’s something deeply unsexy about oil pulling. My neurodivergent brain can’t help but fixate on the imagery: a slurry of coconut oil and the physical embodiment of morning breath swirling around my mouth like a very niche horror film. Still, unlike other wellness fads, this one doesn’t demand a personality shift. No subscriptions. No artisanal bottles with serif fonts. Just a spoonful of oil and the patience to swish.

Will I continue? Probably. Maybe not with the consistency and zeal of someone selling homemade oil pulling blends online, but enough to keep it in the rotation. If nothing else, it gave me a reason to stand still in the morning—mouth full, mind quiet, jaw still slightly aching.