National Advertising Review Board Recommends GuruNanda Discontinue Pulling Oil Teeth Whitening Claims

A panel of the National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appellate advertising body of BBB National Programs, recommended that GuruNanda, LLC discontinue “natural teeth whitening” claims for its pulling oil product.

GuruNanda’s pulling oil, a mouthwash-type product, is based on a traditional Ayurveda practice that involves swishing oils, such as coconut, sesame and sunflower oil, between the teeth to promote oral health.

The advertising at issue had been challenged by The Procter & Gamble Company before BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD). Following NAD’s decision (Case No. 7377), GuruNanda appealed NAD’s recommendation to discontinue the “natural teeth whitening” claim.

The NARB panel determined that NAD’s decision should be affirmed because the two clinical studies submitted by GuruNanda in support of its claim were not sufficiently rigorous to meet the standard of competent and reliable scientific evidence applicable here.

The NARB panel further noted that while the results in these exploratory studies may well point to a possible whitening effect for swishing oil, the research to date does not satisfy the standards for scientific claim support.
Therefore, the NARB panel recommended that GuruNanda discontinue the claim “natural teeth whitening.”
In its advertiser statement, GuruNanda stated that though it “strongly disagrees with NARB’s analysis,” it will “comply with NARB’s recommendation.” GuruNanda further stated that “additional scientific studies were already underway…that will continue to demonstrate” the product’s whitening abilities.