~ More oil pulling for tooth decay ~
Tooth decay and panic! That is what I felt when a tooth, which had lost its crown before pregnancy, decided to rot on me and get worse during pregnancy, causing an abscess that was painful and growing. So, of course, I should not have left the tooth in the first trimester of pregnancy, it is not safe to do anything really to your teeth concerning x-rays and painkillers. But in the US, in second trimester, it’s alright.
I did see a dentist in my second trimester here, who advised that I wait to extract the tooth until after I delivered. But then again, isn’t the rotting dangerous? Before I had the chance to go online and search or call a doctor, I wanted to actually “do” something about the pain and growing abscess – all I could think of was infection, bacteria and baby. So I did the first thing I’ve read about for years now, and that I’ve been doing, but just not for this situation. I turned to organic coconut oil and swished, just in case “doing” that gave some immediate help before finding and receiving information.
It gave a little relief instantly and as the day went on, I even felt the growing abscess stop growing and it even started to get smaller; or was it all in my imagination? I checked the mirror and it did look smaller, but it could have been my imagination. By bedtime, it was definitely noticeably much smaller and the pain and discomfort of pressure were completely gone. The following morning, I woke up with it as if it had never happened.
It was just one swishing session of 15 with the organic virgin coconut oil in my mouth. I’d always read that coconut oil kills germs and is good for your teeth; so I do “oil pull” regularly but ran out of my coconut oil a month ago and failed to get a new container. Well, thank goodness I had bought some just in time to save me some discomfort! This doesn’t mean that the rot is over and that baby and I are totally in the clear; I still have an open hole in my tooth and I still need to know what I can do before the baby is born.
A quick call to my house doctor was of course in order, and he suggested that if the abscess returns, I would have to take antibiotics that wouldn’t harm the baby; but we would first try to prevent the need for antibiotics or paracetamol (for pain relief) by just brushing and swishing mouth wash every single time I ate or drank something sweet. He said that I needed to “clean up the mess” so that the bacteria doesn’t have a large chance to build more and more!
Dentists do admit that “regular oil-pulling routine should not replace routine dental visits and traditional at-home oral care”. Oil pulling does not reverse the effects of tooth decay, and it’s important that patients are made fully aware of that. That being said, I do believe that it is a great supplemental therapy. The phrase “oil pulling” comes from the process of the oil being “worked” in the mouth by pulling, pushing, and sucking it through the teeth. This type of oral therapy isn’t new at all; it has its origins in Ayurvedic medicine dating back 3,000 years.
The procedure involves rinsing (swishing) approximately one tablespoon of oil around in your mouth. As the oil hits your teeth and gums, microbes are picked up as though they are being drawn to a powerful magnet. Bacteria hiding under crevices in the gums and in pores and tubules within the teeth are sucked out of their hiding places and held firmly in the solution.” (www.dentistryiq.com)
So with that info, I feel pretty good about what I did, and I feel good that I went to my doctor to make sure that my baby wasn’t in harm’s way. Always check with your doctor and do your research. Your health is your responsibility after all!
