Coconut Oil Superior to Conventional Mouthwash for Dental Health

The Study

The study was published in March in the Journal of Clinical Oral Investigations.

People with periodontitis were given either:

• Standard treatment (chlorhexidine mouthwash)
• Coconut oil mouthwash (5 mL, 10 mins / day)
• Placebo mouthwash

For a month. They were checked in a month after treatment stopped.

The Results

Coconut oil maintained diversity of the oral microbiome.

In both saliva and gingival crevicular fluid, indices of bacterial diversity declined in both placebo and in standard treatment, but not with coconut oil.

This is considered good - as coconut oil did not wipe out bacteria considered beneficial.

Coconut oil pulling was superior at modifying pathogenic bacteria in the mouth, while increasing commensals.

Pathogens Decreased by Coconut Oil:

• ↓ Tannerella forsythia (Red complex, major periodontitis pathogen)
• ↓ Treponema denticola (Red complex, major periodontitis pathogen)
• ↓ Treponema maltophilum (Anaerobic, disease-associated spirochete)
• ↓ Treponema socranskii (Periodontitis-associated spirochete)
• ↓ Spirochaetaceae (Family of Treponema species, did not decrease with standard treatment)
• ↓ Synergistaceae (Inflammatory, linked to periodontal pockets)
• ↓ Olsenella (Pro-inflammatory, found in infected pulp)
• ↓ Fretibacterium (Emerging periodontitis pathogen)
• ↓ Prevotella (Periodontitis-associated genus)
• ↓ Prevotella melaninogenica (Inflammation-linked species)
• ↓ Campylobacteraceae (Inflammatory, contains pathogenic species)
• ↓ Granulicatella (Opportunistic, linked to infective endocarditis)

Across the board reducing bad guys and increasing good guys.

Good Bacteria Increased by Coconut Oil (but NOT by conventional treatment):

• ↑ Streptococcaceae (Includes protective oral Streptococcus species)
• ↑ Streptococcus (Protective, anti-inflammatory genus)
• ↑ Streptococcus mitis (Specific protective species)
• ↑ Gemellaceae (Commensal, protective, early colonizer)
• ↑ Actinomycetaceae (Beneficial, early colonizer)
• ↑ Actinomyces (Anti-inflammatory, early colonizer)
• ↑ Lachnospiraceae (Butyrate-producing, associated with oral and gut health)
• ↑ Veillonella (Lactate-utilizing, sometimes protective)

Coconut Oil Pulling: Before or After Brushing Teeth?

Before brushing is generally recommended.

The idea is that oil pulling (swishing coconut oil for 10–20 minutes) loosens bacteria and toxins in your mouth, so you want to spit that out before brushing otherwise you're just spreading it around or reintroducing it.

Brushing after then cleans up anything left behind and remineralizes your teeth with hydroxyapatite toothpaste.

Coconut Oil Pulling Dangers

It's pretty safe overall, but a few things to be aware of:

Don't swallow it – the oil is full of bacteria and whatever it pulled from your mouth by the end. Swallowing it defeats the purpose and could upset your stomach.

Clogged pipes – not a danger to you, but coconut oil solidifies at room temperature and will build up in your drain over time. Always spit in the trash or outside.

HOW Coconut Oil Works for Dental Health

The magic here is in its medium chain fats:

• Lauric acid (C12:0)
• Capric acid (C10:0)
• Caprylic acid (C8:0)

Lauric acid (monolaurin) disrupts bacterial membranes, particularly those of gram-negative and lipid-enveloped bacteria, both of which tend to be pathogenic bacteria.

However, commensal or good bacteria tend to be spared from these effects, unlike broad antimicrobials like antibiotics or the standard chlorhexidine treatment.

Thus, it positively modulates the oral bacteria, which lowers inflammation in the mouth.

Analyze & Optimize Team