April 10, 2004

By: Zaki Strand
Website: http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com

Tooth Decay – Clinical Study to Prevent Tooth Decay in Children by Treating Their Mothers

The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (Portland, Oregon) and CHX Technologies, Inc. (Toronto, Canada) jointly announce the initiation of a Phase III clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of Prevora, a topical anti-bacterial medication, in controlling the bacteria that cause tooth decay in young children. The first patients treated in this study will be in Warm Springs, Oregon, starting in early 2003.

Altogether this clinical trial will enroll 500 mother-child pairs at three different sites administered by the Indian Health Service—a federal agency that provides health care services to American Indians in the U.S. The mothers will receive a total of six topical applications of Prevora® over an 18 month period. This study has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Institutional Review Board of the Portland Area Indian Health.

Prevora is a topical prescription drug currently licensed in Canada for reduction of cavity-causing bacteria in the mouth. Prevora is applied to the patient’s teeth by a dental professional in the dental office during a 20 minute appointment. In a previously completed clinical trial, over a one year period Prevora reduced tooth decay in high-risk adults by 24.5% on all surfaces, and by 41.5% on root surfaces. The drug has been found safe in patients of all ages.

Several independent studies have shown that tooth decay results primarily from bacteria that are found in the mouth. Among young children these bacteria are usually acquired from the mother’s mouth through close contact early in life, especially between the age of 6–30 months. Independent studies have also shown that if the mother has low levels of the tooth decay-causing bacteria while her baby is young, there is correspondingly little infection and subsequently little tooth decay in the child.

Tooth decay is America’s most common chronic disease, affecting 95% of Americans at some time in their lives. About one third of Americans over the age of 50 have tooth decay at the root surface where it is difficult to repair. An estimated $25 billion is spent on restoring the teeth after decay each year in the U.S., ranking this disease as one of the most expensive.

Among American Indian children, tooth decay is by far the most common health problem. In some American Indian communities over 90% of preschool age children already have tooth decay. We are eager to find a new, preventive solution to tooth decay in our very young patients, said Dr. Dee Robertson, pediatrician and co-principal investigator for this mothers-children trial. Added Dr. Kathy Phipps, an oral health epidemiologist and co-principal investigator for the study, We hope that Prevora will be the tool we have been needing for years to help control tooth decay among young American Indian children.

Author Notes:

Zaki Strand contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com.  Everything you need to know to get a whiter, brighter smile!