Comparative Assessment between Oral Health Education and Oil Pulling with Oral Health Education in Maintaining Periodontal Health: A Double Blinded Randomised Clinical Trial
Keywords:
Oil pulling, health education, adjunctive practises, plaque index, gingival indexAbstract
Background: Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic practice that involves swishing oil in the mouth to improve oral health. Traditionally, sesame oil and coconut oil have been the most commonly used oils due to their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. This practice is believed to reduce plaque accumulation, gingival inflammation, and improve overall oral hygiene by eliminating toxins and harmful bacteria from the oral cavity.
Aim: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of oil pulling as an adjunct to oral health education in maintaining periodontal health compared to oral health education alone.
Methodology: A double-blinded, randomized clinical trial was conducted over a 45-day period at the Department of Public Health Dentistry, Darshan Dental College and Hospital, Udaipur. Forty participants were randomly assigned to two groups: the control group (oral health education only) and the test group (oral health education with oil pulling). Participants in the test group performed oil pulling with coconut or sesame oil daily for 8–10 minutes. Gingival Index (Löe and Silness, 1963), Plaque Index (Silness and Löe, 1964), and Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S, Greene and Vermillion, 1964) were assessed at baseline (T0), 15 days (T1), and 30 days (T2). Data were analysed using SPSS software, with ANOVA and post-hoc tests determining statistical significance (p < 0.05).
Results: The oil pulling group showed a significant reduction in plaque levels (p = 0.001), gingival inflammation (p = 0.002), and improved oral hygiene scores (p = 0.000) compared to the control group. The most significant improvements occurred between baseline and 15 days, with a continued but slower improvement from 15 to 30 days. The control group, which received only oral health education, showed no significant changes in any indices over the study period (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Oil pulling significantly enhances oral hygiene and reduces gingival inflammation and plaque levels when combined with oral health education. These findings suggest that oil pulling can be an effective, natural, and cost-effective adjunctive oral hygiene practice. Further long-term studies are recommended to establish standardized protocols and assess its broader clinical benefits.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Axelsson P, Lindhe J. The significance of maintenance care in the treatment of periodontal disease. J Clin Periodontol. 1981;8(4):281–94.
Asokan S, Kumar RS, Emmadi P, Raghuraman R, Sivakumar N. Effect of oil pulling on plaque-induced gingivitis: a randomized, controlled, triple-blind study. Indian J Dent Res. 2009;20(1):47–51.
Mythri H. Oil pulling for maintaining oral hygiene – A review. J Health Allied Sci NU. 2017;7(4):239–42.
Peedikayil FC, Sreenivasan P. Effect of coconut oil in plaque-related gingivitis—a preliminary report. Niger Med J. 2015;56(2):143–7.
Saravanan D, Ramkumar S, Vineetha K. Effect of oil pulling on plaque and gingivitis. J Indian Soc Periodontol. 2013;17(4):495–500.
Griessl T, Zechel-Gran S, Olejniczak S, et al. Influence of oil pulling with sesame oil or coconut oil on the oral microbiome: A pilot study. Clin Oral Investig. 2021;25(5):1533–42.
Zanatta FB, Antoniazzi RP, Rösing CK. The effect of 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate rinsing on previously plaque-free and plaque-covered surfaces: a randomized, controlled clinical trial. J Periodontol. 2007;78(11):2127–34.
Gosavi HS, Tandon S, Rai TS, Mathur R, Rathore AS, Krishnan V. Efficacy of oil pulling on caries activity of Streptococcus mutans: A randomized controlled trial. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2024;17(1):34–9.
Ripari F, Filippone F, Zumbo G, et al. Coconut oil pulling as an adjunctive treatment for plaque-induced gingivitis: A pilot clinical study. J Clin Exp Dent. 2022;14(2): e132–6.
Kim HJ, Ji S. Effectiveness of oil pulling in improving oral health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2022; 49:101619.
Gao X. Impact of oral health education on gingival health: A systematic review. J Oral Health Res. 2017;6(3):112–6.
Kay EJ, Locker D. Is dental health education effective? A systematic review of current evidence. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1996;24(4):231–5.
Peedikayil FC, Sreenivasan P, Narayanan A. Effect of sesame oil in plaque-related gingivitis—a preliminary report. Niger Med J. 2016;57(3):146–156
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
