VIDYAVATI Northern Sumatera University, Northern Sumatera, Indonesia
Background: Oil pulling therapy or oil swishing has been extensively used as a traditional Indian folk remedy for oral health benefits which comes from Ayurvedic medicine thousands of years ago. This therapy is done by swishing any desired vegetable oil for a period of 5 to 8 minutes in mouth. The oil ‘works’ in mouth by pushing, pulling and drawing it through the teeth and gums which eventually pulls out hidden bacteria, debris and toxins. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of oil pulling therapy using sunflower on the number of bacteria count in saliva of student. Material and methods: This is an clinical experimental research with pre and post-test design. A total of 20 students in the Faculty of Dentistry, University of North Sumatra were selected for this study. They were randomly divided into the study group or oil pulling group and the control or distilled water group with 10 subjects in each group. Saliva samples were collected from all the 20 subjects in a sterile container, incubated and the total count of bacteria present in saliva were determined using colony counter. The study group then was subjected to oil pulling with a tablespoon of sunflower oil and the control group was given distilled water for 5 minutes. The rinsed sample were collected from both groups. The collected samples was then incubated in laboratory and the number of bacteria was evaluated using the colony counter. The data obtained were analyzed with the Mann-Whitney test and the Wilcoxon test. Results: There was a significant difference in the bacteria count in saliva before and after performing oil pulling therapy p = 0.005 (p <0.005). Whereas the control group showed no significant difference in the bacteria count in saliva before and after gargling with