Can coconut oil relieve canker sores?

Focus on the “oil pulling” method for managing canker sores.

“Oil pulling,” or oil mouth rinsing, is a practice from traditional Indian medicine (Ayurveda) that has recently come back into use. It involves swishing a tablespoon of oil, most often a vegetable oil, around the mouth for several minutes on an empty stomach, and then spitting it out. During this process, the oil gradually emulsifies, which increases its contact surface with the oral tissues. This practice is often described as a natural method for cleaning the oral cavity, in particular by limiting plaque formation and reducing the microbial load.

Oil pulling is also credited with the ability to reduce canker sores.

Canker sores are small, painful lesions, more specifically ulcers, that develop on the mucous membranes of the mouth or at the base of the gums. Unlike cold sores, they are neither viral in origin nor contagious. Their occurrence is multifactorial: stress, hormonal fluctuations, microtraumas (such as biting or dental appliances), infection by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, or nutritional deficiencies (iron, folate, vitamin B12) can promote their development. Although they heal spontaneously within one to two weeks, canker sores can be bothersome in daily life, which is why it is useful to eliminate them quickly.

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Can coconut oil help with canker sores?

To date, the scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of coconut oil for canker sores remains limited.

Nevertheless, certain biological mechanisms allow us to formulate hypotheses. Coconut oil in particular contains lauric acid, a fatty acid known for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. It can disrupt the membranes of certain microorganisms and limit their proliferation. Although canker sores are not always of infectious origin, the presence of bacteria in the oral cavity can maintain inflammation or delay healing, which is why reducing the local microbial load may be beneficial.

With this in mind, several studies have evaluated the antibacterial effect of coconut oil in the oral cavity. For example, a clinical trial conducted in 50 children compared a coconut oil mouthwash with chlorhexidine, a reference antiseptic. After 30 days of daily use, the results showed a significant reduction in Streptococcus mutans, a bacterium involved in dental caries, in both groups, with no significant difference between them. In other words, coconut oil demonstrated an efficacy comparable to that of chlorhexidine in reducing this bacterium. However, these results must be interpreted with caution: S. mutans is involved in tooth decay, and not in canker sores, which have a different pathophysiology.

However, some studies have focused more directly on canker sores. A clinical study conducted in 52 patients with recurrent canker sores compared the application of coconut oil with 5% amlexanox, a standard treatment for this condition. The results showed significant improvement in both groups, with a reduction in pain and ulcer size over the days. Coconut oil notably produced a significant decrease in pain as early as the third day, as well as a reduction in lesion size by the fifth day. These findings suggest a potential beneficial effect of coconut oil, although the study sample was relatively small and it does not provide details about the differences observed between the two groups.

In conclusion, while the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties of coconut oil could make it an interesting option as a mouthwash for canker sores, the evidence remains insufficient. It may serve as a useful complement to conventional treatments, but should not replace them.

Note : Since coconut oil is also an edible oil, there is no contraindication to using it for oil pulling.