Coconut oil could combat tooth decay

i love both.

"The research team from the Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland tested the
impact of coconut oil, vegetable oil and olive oil in their natural states and
when treated with enzymes, in a process similar to digestion"

so it looks like petri dish level of research so far.

But maybe coconut oiled dental floss isn't so far away. With coconut oil being liguid at about 75-80 degrees & solid at lower temps. This will pose a problem for manufacturing.

If you can do that cp, you're a better woman than I am. I sat there looking at the jar, toothbrush in hand, and started gagging, which doesn't take much these days. It's just so lard-like, I can't do it. Even melted down, I just can't put a blob of oil in my mouth. 

Coconut oil melts to a liquid quickly. I put a tablespoon in my mouth, and swish for 10 minutes to make sure it gets to everything. I have a cavity that is being filled Monday, and this did the trick for me to stop the pain until I get there. It tastes good, and your teeth feel really smooth and clean after swishing. Google "oil-pulling". Same idea : )



As always cp418, your diligence with these studies is so appreciated! When I am gone for awhile from the boards, I always head straight back to this forum. It is such a noble and valuable service you perform for us. Ihatesnow too...I am pretty sure I can see her virtually rolling her eyes everytime she posts something about needing to study proteins more, lol.

geewhiz - I did Google "oil-pulling"....can you tell me what the big deal is about doing it on an empty stomach? Or if you're doing it just for teeth, does that not matter?

I have a nice big jar of coconut oil in my bathroom. I was slathering it on my face until whiteheads popped out everywhere, so I had to stop. Last week I slathered it on my hair, wrapped my head in a towel, and left it on for an hour.....made a nice conditioner, although I did need to wash with shampoo several times to get it all out....hopefully, I didn't undo the benefits of the conditioning...

With everything else going on, I've sure neglected my teeth this past year....I'm almost embarassed to go back in for my routine cleaning...

I bought a product named "tooth soap" from Amazon. It's a combo of coconut and olive oil, you brush your teeth with it. I use it at night, seems to help my mouth dryness too, which is the reason I got it.

I was concerned about the high saturated fat content in coconut oil.  I just successfully got off a statin after taking it for high cholesterol (genetic) and didn't want to contribute to causing a problem by using coconut oil.  I found this article on Livestrong about it, and it appears to be safe in moderation.  I usually just use olive oil sparingly, and I don't do a lot of baking anymore, but I have a jar of coconut oil so I am going to try this.  I just had a bunch of dental work done (at the half-way point between Prolia injections to try to avoid any issues) and my dentist said that the minor cavities looked worse than the x-ray showed (he blames chemo - his wife is stage III ovarian CA - he has knowledge on this) so I am willing to try this - also my gums are a mess historically, so any help would be good!

http://www.livestrong.com/article/402880-are-saturated-fats-in-coconut-oil/

I'm going to sound really stupid, but wallycat, what is "their" oil that has an enzyme added to it? I'm missing something. I don't know much about coconut oil, but from the little I have learned, it should be virgin and contain at least 40% lauric acid. Is that the kind you can safely eat without adding "bad" cholesterol? Also, what do you use it for personally, if you don't mind me asking....for the health benefits I've read so much about (if you eat it), or for other reasons? Really looking forward to hearing how everyone is using this.



Not that this carries any weight, but I just read an article about this celebrity who uses only coconut oil in her skincare regime and eats 1/4 cup of it a day and has done this since she was a teenager. She never had pimples, never got sick, used it on cuts and scrapes, etc. She says it's the one product she couldn't live without. She also mentions that she recommended it to a friend with allergies...she no longer has allergies after 6 months of ingesting 1/4 cup daily.



Just another interesting thing I've come across, one lady noticed that when she cooked with it and it spattered, it would hurt, but not blister, so she started using it on household burns and sunburns and they healed very quickly. Kinda cool.