Another experiment that seems a bit wacky… swilling coconut oil around one’s mouth for a few minutes to help remove plaque.

Proponents say that using a teaspoon or so each day is good for mouth health so I thought I would try it. I like coconut oil so wasn’t expecting to gag when I put the cold oil in my mouth and started to swoosh it around a bit like a mouthwash. But the gag reflex soon passed and it became an inoffensive taste to work with.

While swooshing for the suggested 10 – 15 minutes I decided to look up the possible downsides (why not do this beforehand I hear you ask?) and found that inhaling or swallowing could be problematic and that many people recommended keeping the swilling to 3 minutes to avoid dryness afterwards. So I didn’t inhale or swallow and spat out after a few  minutes.

OneGoodThingByJillee suggests adding tea tree oil to the oil to boost the benefits but I am keeping it simple for now.

The research I should have done beforehand also suggested that there aren’t any proven benefits beyond plaque removal and possible halitosis or gingivitus avoidance but just in case the whitening  – without the risks of enamel damage – and remineralising claims are right, the plan is to do this twice a week.