A Comparative Evaluation to Assess the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Regarding the Effects of Oil Pulling and Its Health Benefits among Ayurvedic and Dental Students in Bareilly City: A Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION

The widely held assumption that good dental health is the first step toward overall health suggests that mental and physical health are closely related.¹ Oral symptoms of several general illnesses are a risk factor for certain oral health issues.² This association is thought to be caused by risk factors that are common in many different illnesses. The most prevalent types of oral disorders are dental caries and periodontal diseases (such as gingivitis and periodontitis).¹ An efficient plaque control technique can successfully prevent and control both.

Adjuvants for reducing plaque development and maintaining oral hygiene have been sought; however, mechanical teeth cleaning techniques are the most dependable and well recognized means of maintaining oral hygiene. Chemotherapeutic mouthwashes containing chlorhexidine are now utilized as adjuvant agents to prevent plaque development, however, they come with drawbacks such as altered taste, extrinsic tooth and tongue discoloration, and desquamation of the oral mucosa.^3,4

In recent years, significant technical improvements have been made in the domains of medicine and dentistry. Nevertheless, because of their natural origins, affordability, few negative effects, and enhanced patient compliance, certain ancient medical practices, like Ayurveda, have begun to regain favor in recent years.¹

“Oil pulling” or “oil swishing” is a popular home remedy that involves swishing oil around the mouth for benefits to dental and systemic wellness.⁵ Oil pulling is a traditional oral kriya, or technique, that is advised as a crucial component of daily health rituals, or Dinacharya, in ayurvedic literature.⁶ Dr. Karach introduced the idea of oil pulling to the Russian public in the 1990s, claiming that it could heal a variety of ailments, including disorders of the mouth.⁵ Oil pulling practitioners assert that oil pulling can help with acne, headaches, migraines, diabetes mellitus, asthma, and teeth whitening, among other dental and systemic health issues.³

One of the most widely used and respected supplementary and alternative medicine modalities is Ayurveda, which is becoming more and more well-known as complementary medicine worldwide.⁷ The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Department of AYUSH suggested combining homoeopathy, siddha, unani, and ayurveda with the allopathic system to guarantee everyone’s health throughout the nation. Guidelines for promoting the idea of oil pulling among Indian residents have been prepared by the Ministry of Ayush.⁸ Medical students should be shaped with an awareness of the advantages of conventional medicine, as they will be the physicians of the future, bringing with them their values, expertise, and aspirations for the profession.⁹ In order to evaluate the ayurveda and dental students’ comprehension of oil pulling and to boost their confidence in prescribing this therapy in regular clinical practice, this study was designed to measure their knowledge, attitudes, and practice regarding it.

METHODOLOGY

RESULTS

This study is the first questionnaire study done among dental and ayurvedic students to assess their knowledge and awareness about effects of oil pulling. Out of total 240 participants, maximum dental and ayurvedic students belonged to the age group 21–23 years (Fig. 1). It was observed that maximum dental students (n = 82) were female and maximum ayurvedic students (n = 62) were male (Fig. 2).

The number of correct answers given for each question in the questionnaire was calculated and the percentage of correct answers for each question was determined for the entire sample (Table 1). Approximately 61.7% of dental students and 86.7% of ayurvedic students responded that they are aware of practice of oil pulling and the difference between two groups was found to be statistically significant. About 30.8% of dental students and 78.3% of ayurvedic students were aware that oil pulling should be done before brushing early in morning and the difference between two groups was found to be statistically significant. Approximately 62.5% of dental students and 80.8% of ayurvedic students were aware that oil pulling is based on mechanism of emulsification and the difference between two groups was found to be statistically significant. Approximately 52.5% of dental students and 68.3% of ayurvedic students knew that oil pulling is very efficient in treating plaque induced gingivitis and the difference between two groups was found to be statistically significant. Only 15% of dental students and 46.7% of ayurvedic students feel that oil pulling inhibits growth of malignant tumor and the difference between two groups was found to be statistically significant. Approximately 30.8% of dental students and 78.3% of ayurvedic students think oil pulling can replace the usage of chemical mouthwashes to prevent and maintain oral health and the difference between two groups was found to be statistically significant. Approximately 33.3% of dental students and 45% of ayurvedic students think chronic usage of oil pulling has effect on systemic issues like GERD, peptic ulcers, diabetes, migraine and the difference between two groups was found to be statistically significant. Approximately 56.7% of dental students and 81.7% of ayurvedic students are aware that practicing oil pulling improves both oral and general health and the difference between two groups was found to be statistically significant. The difference between dental and ayurvedic students was found to be statistically significant in all questions pertaining to practices regarding oil pulling (Table 1).

DISCUSSION

In developing nations, oral disorders are becoming more prevalent and constitute one of the major issues in public health. Health administrators should encourage the inclusion of oral health in the national health plan and create appropriate oral health strategies that take into account promotion and disease prevention activities.¹¹ The cornerstone of maintaining good oral health and preventing oral illnesses is prevention. Modern medicine has not been very successful in treating or preventing oral illnesses.¹²

In many Asian developing and developed countries, a deeper comprehension of traditional medicine as an adjunctive method is essential, as it connects to ingrained cultural ideas and might increase public acceptance of dental healthcare initiatives. A good substitute that might inspire the creation of fresh dental health preventatives or treatment plans is Ayurveda. Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in the use of different ayurvedic medications for tooth and oral health, with oil pulling becoming more popular.¹³ This is a useful technique not just for the wealthy but also for the underprivileged, for whom using inexpensive methods would allow them to maintain better dental hygiene.

Students, professionals, people, and society at large bear responsibility for this area of dentistry.¹²Hence, this study was done to assess and compare the knowledge, attitude, and practices about effects of oil pulling and its health benefits among ayurvedic and dental students.

In the present study, 61.7% of dental students were aware of oil pulling. Approximately 62.5% of them knew about the mechanism of oil pulling and 63.3% knew that oil should be spit out instead of swallowing it. The low knowledge scores among dentists in this study were consistent with those of Krishnapriya et al., Bharathi and Dhanraj and Ram et al.^10,14,15

Although 56.7 and 55.8% of dental students felt that practicing oil pulling improves both general and oral health and helps in the reduction of halitosis, respectively, there is a knowledge gap among dental students. A study done by Basha and Gurumurthy et al. on the general population found significantly high concentrations of people were unaware of this practice and there was a growing need to spread information on the same.^16,17

Various KAP studies have been performed on different populations, but this is the first research of this kind and it showcases the familiarity of ayurvedic students with the benefits of oil pulling. The present study also evaluated the knowledge, attitude, and practice of ayurvedic and dental students with respect to the advantages of oil pulling for oral health maintenance. The former group performed significantly better in all three domains than the latter, but there is still a deficiency in the recommendation of oil pulling. Dental students can successfully collaborate with ayurvedic colleagues to build an interdisciplinary approach, communicate, and improve oral healthcare for patients, thus closing the knowledge and practice gap on oil pulling. Furthermore, consistent planning and implementation of continuing education programs that emphasize the significance and impacts of oil pulling on oral health are necessary to inspire and educate dentistry students.

In spite of all the advances in the field of health science, traditional healing methods still have a major role to play. Accurate knowledge will enable dental and ayurvedic students to make appropriate decisions about their patients’ health.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the survey offered valuable information on the general comprehension and perspective of ayurvedic and dental students regarding oil pulling. Examining ayurvedic students’ knowledge and attitude toward recommending oil pulling as a method of dental hygiene is crucial, as the majority of patients see it as a way to maintain their general and oral health. By avoiding the drawbacks of using chemical mouthwashes for extended periods of time, the practitioners may help patients maintain their dental health more affordably while also enhancing their general and oral health.

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