Journal of Natural Remedies

Sriram Kaliamoorthy ¹, Jayasuriya Vijayakumar ¹, Santhosh Kumar Caliaperoumal ¹, Ambiga Pazhani ², Kanmani Raju ³, Padmavathi Venkatesan ³, Vikneshan Murugaboopathy ⁴

Affiliations
1 Department of Dentistry, Vinayaka Missions Medical College, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation (Deemed to be University), Karaikal – 609 609, Puducherry, IN
2 Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Vivekananda Dental College and Hospital, Thiruchencode – 637 205, Tamilnadu, IN
3 Department of Oral Medicine & Radiology, Chettinad Dental College and Research Institute, Kelambakkam – 603 103, Tamilnadu, IN
4 Department of Public Health Dentistry, Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences, Sree Balaji Vidhyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Puducherry – 607 403, IN

Abstract

Background: Oil pulling is an oral hygiene practice and is described in the ancient Ayurvedic literature. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 subjects with plaque related mild – moderate gingivitis in the age Group of 18-25 was recruited and they were divided into two Groups as Group A and B, each with 15 subjects. Group A subjects were advised to practice coconut oil pulling therapy and Group B subjects were advised to use Chlorhexidine Gluconate 0.12% solution for 4 weeks as an adjuvant practice along with routine tooth brushing. Estimation of salivary Aspartate Aminotransferase was done at pre and post intervention stage for both the study Groups by using semi auto analyser. Results: Statistically significant reduction in the reduction in the salivary Aspartate Aminotransferase level was seen at post intervention stage in Group A and Group B compared to preintervention stage. Comparison of salivary Aspartate Aminotransferase level between Group A subjects and Group B subjects at pre and post intervention stage revealed no significant difference. Our study results show that oil pulling utilizing coconut oil is effective in reducing the severity of plaque induced mild-moderate gingivitis and the effect is comparable to 0.12% chlorhexidine mouthwash in reducing plaque formation and gingivitis. Conclusion: Oil pulling utilizing coconut oil is an effective adjuvant oral hygiene practice in reducing the severity of plaque induced mild – moderate gingivitis along with the routine oral hygiene measure. Coconut oil pulling practice could be a potential alternative to chlorhexidine mouth wash for long term use.

Keywords

Aspartate Aminotransferase, Kavala Gandoosha, Kavala Graham, Oil Swishing.

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