Effect of Virgin Coconut Oil Pulling on Salivary Bacterial Count Versus fluoride mouth wash in a group of Egyptian adults – Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) | ||
| Egyptian Dental Journal | ||
| Volume 71, Issue 4 - Serial Number 5, October 2025, Pages 3463-3467 PDF (345.58 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/edj.2025.395730.3514 | ||
| Author | ||
| omnia magdy moustafa kamal* | ||
| Lecturer of Esthetic and Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University, Egypt | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background: With increasing public interest in complementary natural health practices, oil pulling, an ancient Ayurvedic practice, has re-emerged as a possible alternative oral antiseptic to fluoride mouthwash. Anecdotal endorsement abounds, but scientific support is lacking. Objective: This study evaluated and compared the effectiveness of virgin coconut oil (VCO) pulling and fluoride mouthwash in reducing salivary bacterial counts in a sample of healthy Egyptian adults. Methods: Seventy-two adult participants (aged 18–60) were randomly allocated into two equal groups: Group A1 used fluoride mouthwash, and Group A2 practiced oil pulling with virgin coconut oil. Salivary samples were collected at baseline (T0), after 2 weeks (T1), and after 4 weeks (T2). Bacterial counts were quantified as colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU/ml) using Mitis Salivarius agar plates. Results: The interventions both led to a continuous decrease in counts of bacteria. However, statistical evaluation by independent t-tests found no noteworthy differences between groups at all time points (p-values: T0 = 0.543, T1 = 0.266, T2 = 0.204). Conclusion: Virgin coconut oil pulling is as effective as fluoride mouthwash in decreasing salivary bacterial loads in a period of four weeks, and it can serve as a useful natural alternative for oral hygiene. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| : Virgin coconut oil; Fluoride mouthwash; Salivary bacteria | ||
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