Oil Pulling aka Am I a Hippie?

It happened. 27 years into my life and the dentist finally dropped the bomb on me.

I have a cavity. 

I understood, but I refused to believe it. I brush my teeth. I floss (ok, that record isn't perfect but who's is?) I even use a hydrogen peroxide mix as a mouthwash and teeth whitener, so what's the deal Doc? He said, "It's a cavity, these things happen to everyone." Nope. That was the moment I decided I had to find a way to beat this thing on my own. No drills, no fillings, au naturel baby. 

The first thing I tried was adding cod liver oil to my nightly routine. I would have been fine taking it in a pill form, but my mother said the best way to ingest it was as a liquid. So I did, and it was awful. Mint flavored fish oil for the girl who hates fish. Every night I took a tablespoon of the oil and followed it with a butter pill (seriously - the butter is supposed to help your body soak up the oil. Don't ask.) and went to my next dental appointment expecting him to whoop with surprise and tell me, "Your cavity is completely gone, it's amazing!" 

That didn't happen. 

The cavity was still there and I was reeling from taking cod liver oil on the reg. So, I took to researching other options and stumbled across oil pulling. I saw it before I took on the liver oil routine, but didn't think I would have time to swish coconut oil in my mouth for 20 minutes every morning. I have coffee to drink and make up to put on, there's no time for additional dental hygiene! But, with the failure that was cod liver oil, I decided to try it. Post-work out and pre-work travel, I put a spoonful of coconut oil in the old mouth and got to swishing. I was able to wash my face and do my hair, and even do my make-up. This must be the amazing technique called multi-tasking! 

20 minutes pass and I spit the liquid into the trash, feeling nothing different except for a heightened amount of phlegm. I've now been pulling oil through my teeth for a little over a week, and would love to say my teeth are whiter and I can feel the cavity sealing itself, but I can't. I mean, maybe my teeth are whiter, but no one has commented on it on their own. 

I'll keep this up until my next dentist appointment, because if nothing else I think it's helping, and maybe that's all I need to nurse these chompers back to perfect health. I will admit, with this development, I'm starting to accept the fact that maybe I am more of a hippie than I have admitted to. More on that next time.