Let’s tackle oil pulling first, which is probably the most harmless. I asked my dentist, the unflappable Dr Uchenna Okoye of London Smiling , for her take: "[Oil pulling] is sometimes considered a type of natural mouthwash," she said. "Swilling a tablespoon of it around the mouth for 10 minutes is said to literally pull the bad bacteria off your teeth, leaving you with a clean, fresh mouth." There is no real research to confirm this works but it probably won’t do you any harm. Dr Okoye continued: "Remember to always rinse with water after spitting out the oil. Realistically, if you dig into many of the stories you will find the ones with good results actually do a combination of brushing and oil pulling." My only addition here is that chugging a tablespoon of oil around your gums for 10 whole minutes sounds about as much fun as stepping on a plug, but that may just be me.