A low-cost oral routine with a thin, uneven evidence base. Clearest signals sit in the mouth: breath odour improves, gum inflammation falls, mouths feel better — though plain water rinsing produced much of the same. Weaker than an antiseptic rinse at removing deposits, gentler on tooth colour. Inhaled oil has caused serious lung inflammation, almost always where swallowing is impaired. (Full Review)
| Marker | Target | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Plaque Index (Silness–Löe) | ≤ 0.5 | Tracks the deposit the practice is meant to lift |
| Bleeding on probing | < 10% of sites | Earliest reversible sign of gum inflammation |
| Probing pocket depth | ≤ 3 mm at every site | Separates reversible gum inflammation from bone loss, which oil pulling does not address |
| hs-CRP | < 0.5 mg/L | The inflammation marker that moved in the one trial reaching beyond the mouth |
| Fasting triglycerides | < 80 mg/dL (< 0.9 mmol/L) | The blood fat that fell alongside inflammation in that same trial |
| HbA1c | 5.0–5.4% | Gum disease and blood-sugar control move together, and the systemic signal appeared only where both were present |
| Unstimulated salivary flow rate | > 0.2 mL/min | Establishes whether dryness is measurable before crediting the practice with relieving it |
| Oral Health Impact Profile-14 score | No established target — track the change from the individual's own baseline | Captures pain, chewing, speech and social comfort that clinical scores miss entirely |
Cadence: Gum and deposit scores at 4 weeks and again at 8 weeks, then at each routine dental visit every 6 to 12 months. Blood markers re-drawn no sooner than 3 months and annually thereafter.