My midwife...

Is pretty smart. Ok, really smart. A couple of weeks ago, I told her that I thought that one of my fillings was cracked and that a cavity might be leaking through.  She told me to try swooshing a shot glass worth of olive oil in my mouth for 10-15 minutes at a time, so that the oil would draw the impurities out of my system.  This little tidbit is also known as 'oil pulling.'  I had done some research on oil pulling prior to her suggesting it, but I can't remember what I was looking at oil pulling for.  I shoved put her advice in the back of my mind because the thought of swooshing oil in my mouth was just not appealing at all. After she suggested the oil pulling, I went to my dental appointment and the dentist confirmed my suspicion about the cavity (I have a cracked filling and oh, another cavity!  Good times). He suggested loading the tooth with toothpaste to build  up the fluoride and to help dull the pain.  He also informed me that he would not be filling any teeth until after S4 arrives and that I can make an appointment on the way out.  Thanks dude. 

Anyway, as you can imagine, the toothpaste does not stay where it's supposed to and for some reason, the gums on the other side of my mouth have started to mess with me.  So because I know that my dentist will not do anything until after the noob makes her debut, I decided to actually try the oil pulling.  I did it last night with coconut oil.  It was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. There are pages and pages of oil pulling info online as well as videos on youtube. One of my favorite natural sites is Earth Clinic and the site had a plethora of oil pulling info, including types of oils and how they may or may not work depending on your body make up, etc. Very interesting stuff. I also happened on this holistic website which gives great info as well.

Evidently oil pulling has a ton of health benefits.  It's also safe to do while pregnant.  So I am giving it the old college heave-ho this week because I am sick of chewing my food on one side of my mouth! 

So to my midwife Shell, once again, you totally rock my world.   xoxo

I want to say that I am not a medical professional by any means and that if you're thinking of doing this, you should probably talk to your health professional.