Clinical Evaluation of Edible Oils Used in Traditional Oil Pulling Therapy for Plaque Control and Tooth Discoloration: A Randomized Trial.

Introduction: Oil pulling therapy has gained increasing attention as a natural oral hygiene

practice; however, evidence regarding its clinical effectiveness remains limited and inconclusive. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of oil pulling therapy on dental plaque

regrowth and tooth discoloration compared with chlorhexidine. Materials and Methods:

One hundred systemically healthy dental students were randomly allocated to five groups:

chlorhexidine, coconut oil, black cumin seed oil, terebinth oil, and distilled water. Following

professional prophylaxis, participants refrained from mechanical oral hygiene for four days

and used their assigned intervention twice daily. Plaque accumulation was assessed using

the Turesky modification of the Quigley–Hein Plaque Index, gingival inflammation using

the Gingival Index, and tooth color using CIELAB color difference measurements. Data

were analyzed using one-way ANOVA or Kruskal–Wallis test with appropriate post hoc

tests, depending on the distribution of data. Results: Plaque scores differed significantly

among groups (p < 0.001), with chlorhexidine showing superior plaque inhibition compared

with all oil-based interventions and distilled water. Gingival index values were lowest

in the chlorhexidine group, although differences among oil groups were not statistically

significant. Tooth discoloration was significantly greater with chlorhexidine than with

all oil-based interventions (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Oil pulling therapies demonstrated

lower anti-plaque efficacy than chlorhexidine but resulted in less tooth discoloration. These

findings suggest that oil pulling may serve as an adjunct rather than an alternative to

conventional plaque control.

Keywords: chlorhexidine; oil pulling therapy; dental plaque; plaque regrowth model; tooth

discoloration; coconut oil; nigella sativa oil; terebinth oil