Oil pulling does appear to help with bad breath, based on the clinical evidence available so far. In a three-week randomized controlled trial comparing sesame oil pulling to chlorhexidine (a standard antibacterial mouthwash), researchers found no significant difference between the two for reducing oral malodor and the bacteria that cause it. Both were significantly better than the placebo. That said, the American Dental Association has not endorsed oil pulling as a dental hygiene practice, citing a lack of large-scale, reliable studies.
How Oil Pulling Reduces Mouth Odor
Bad breath mostly comes from bacteria in the mouth breaking down food particles and dead cells, releasing foul-smelling sulfur compounds in the process. Oil pulling works against this in a few ways. When you swish oil around your mouth, the fat in the oil interacts with saliva and undergoes a process similar to soap-making: the oil emulsifies, increasing its surface area and giving it more cleaning power across your teeth, gums, and tongue. The oil’s thickness also physically prevents bacteria from sticking to surfaces. A third mechanism involves natural antioxidants in the oil that may damage bacterial cell walls, producing an effect researchers have compared to a mild antibiotic.
A study on coconut oil pulling found a statistically significant reduction in counts of Streptococcus mutans, one of the most common harmful oral bacteria, comparable to chlorhexidine mouthwash. While S. mutans is more closely linked to cavities than to bad breath specifically, the broader antibacterial activity helps explain why oil pulling users report fresher breath.
What the Clinical Trials Show
The most direct evidence comes from a randomized controlled trial of 60 participants that tested sesame oil pulling against chlorhexidine for halitosis over 21 days. Judges rated participants’ breath using organoleptic scoring (essentially, trained human sniff tests) along with microbial counts. Both the oil pulling and chlorhexidine groups showed significant reductions in malodor compared to placebo, and there was no statistically significant difference between the two treatment groups. The researchers concluded that oil pulling with sesame oil is equally effective as chlorhexidine for reducing oral malodor.
A separate randomized trial on sesame oil pulling over eight weeks found that participants in the oil pulling group reported significant improvements in mouth dryness, bad taste, and subjective sensation of bad breath compared to the control group. The oil pulling group also reduced plaque by about 19% across the full mouth, versus roughly 10% in the control group. On the surfaces between teeth, the difference was even larger: 24% versus 14% after four weeks. Less plaque means fewer bacteria producing those sulfur compounds, which translates directly to fresher breath.
Coconut oil pulling has also shown meaningful plaque reduction. In a 30-day study, participants’ plaque index scores dropped from 1.19 at baseline to 0.385 by day 30, a decline of roughly 68%. Gingival (gum) inflammation scores dropped by a similar margin. Since gum disease is one of the most common causes of persistent bad breath, this reduction matters.
Which Oil Works Best
Sesame oil has the most clinical research behind it, partly because it’s the oil traditionally used in Ayurvedic medicine where oil pulling originated. The halitosis-specific trial used sesame oil, and the plaque reduction trial also used sesame oil with positive results. Coconut oil is the other well-studied option, with strong evidence for reducing harmful bacteria counts and plaque buildup. Coconut oil has the added advantage of a milder taste, which makes the process more tolerable for many people.
Both oils have shown benefits. If your primary goal is fresher breath, sesame oil has the most direct evidence. If you find the taste of sesame oil unpleasant and won’t stick with the routine, coconut oil is a reasonable alternative with solid supporting data.
How to Do It
The standard protocol is one tablespoon of oil, swished around the mouth for 15 to 20 minutes. Most studies had participants do this in the morning on an empty stomach, before brushing their teeth. If 20 minutes feels like a lot (and it is), starting with 5 to 10 minutes is fine, especially if your jaw gets sore. You can gradually work up to the full duration.
Spit the oil into a trash can when you’re done, not the sink, since it can clog pipes as it solidifies. Then brush your teeth as you normally would. Some studies tested oil pulling just once daily, while others used it up to three times a day before meals. Once daily in the morning is the most practical approach and the one most commonly studied. In the trials showing benefits for bad breath and plaque, improvements appeared within the first one to two weeks.
Why the ADA Hasn’t Endorsed It
The American Dental Association’s position is straightforward: there aren’t yet enough reliable, large-scale scientific studies to recommend oil pulling as a dental hygiene practice. The ADA continues to recommend brushing twice daily with fluoride toothpaste and flossing once a day. This doesn’t mean oil pulling is harmful or useless. It means the existing studies, while promising, tend to be small (often 20 to 60 participants) and short-term. No one has run the kind of multi-center trial with hundreds of participants that would shift official guidelines.
For practical purposes, this means oil pulling should be treated as a supplement to your normal routine, not a replacement for brushing and flossing.
Safety Considerations
Oil pulling is generally safe, but there is one risk worth knowing about. If oil is accidentally inhaled into the lungs, it can cause a condition called lipoid pneumonia, a type of lung inflammation triggered by fat droplets in the airways. This is rare. Published case reports describe patients who habitually aspirated (breathed in) sesame oil during their pulling sessions over several months before developing symptoms like cough, shortness of breath, and fever. About 40% of cases have only mild or no symptoms, making it easy to miss.
The takeaway: swish gently and don’t tilt your head back in a way that risks inhaling the oil. If you have a condition that makes swallowing or breathing coordination difficult, oil pulling may not be appropriate for you.