Coconut oil pulling – The holistic medicine: Evaluation of efficacy of coconut oil pulling therapy as an adjunct to scaling in diabetic patients with chronic gingivitis – A clinical and microbiological study

Context: Oil pulling is the traditional medicine practised in ancient India. Limited scientific data is present illustrating the role of oil pulling. Therefore, we conducted a study to introduce a natural ingredient which can be used as an adjunct in diabetic patients. Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of Coconut Oil as an adjunct to scaling in diabetic patients with chronic gingivitis. Material and Methods: 60 Diabetic patients with Chronic Gingivitis were divided into 3 groups: Group A: Scaling and root planing only (n=20), Group B: Scaling and root planing followed by Coconut Oil Pulling Therapy (n=20) and Group C: Scaling and root planing followed by rinsing with 0.2% Chlorhexidine mouthwash (n=20). The following clinical parameters were recorded at baseline after SRP and 15 days post-treatment : Plaque index (P.I.), Gingival index (G.I.) & Total colony forming units (CFU/ml). Results: The method used for statistical analysis was repeated measure ANNOVA followed by post-hoc test. The results of the study demonstrated the difference in the reduction of all the scores to be clinically significant and not statistically significant. Conclusion: Thus, this study shows the positive effects of coconut oil pulling in the control and prevention of progression of gingival disease.