Effectiveness of Coconut Oil Pulling With Clove Oil, Coconut Oil Pulling and Fluoride Mouthwash on Streptococcus Mutans Count in Children

This study is a three-arm, randomized controlled trial assessing the impact of coconut oil pulling with clove oil compared to coconut oil alone and fluoride mouthwash on Streptococcus mutans reduction in children. Participants will be recruited from the Pediatric Dentistry Department at Cairo University and randomly assigned using a 1:1:1 allocation ratio.

Saliva samples will be collected at three time points (baseline, immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks post-intervention) for microbiological analysis. The study will also evaluate secondary outcomes such as patient compliance (measured using the MMAS-4 scale), acceptability (using a 5-point Likert scale), and gingival health (assessed with the Löe & Silness Gingival Index).

The findings aim to determine whether natural oil-based methods can serve as effective, non-invasive alternatives to fluoride-based mouth rinses in pediatric populations.

Inclusion criteria

• 1.Children aged 6-12 years old. 2.Both male and female participants. 3.Patients in good general health condition with no systemic disease. 4.Patients' first guardians must provide written informed consent to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

• 1.Patients who have recently received fluoride treatments (within the last 2 weeks).

2.Patients with a history of recent antibiotic administration (within the last 2 weeks).

3.Patients who have recently used antimicrobial mouth rinses in the last 12 hours or topical fluoride treatments.