Hamilton hospital network studying new kind of dental treatment
Published June 13, 2023 at 5:33 pm
Hamilton’s St. Joseph’s Health System is studying a new, “first-of-its-kind” preventive dental treatment that could save people from making more visits to the doctor, especially helping high-risk patients receiving home healthcare services.
The “non-invasive” treatment called Prevora is billed as a “convenient approach to improve oral health among those receiving home healthcare services.”
Prevora is an antiseptic coating applied to all surfaces of the teeth, including the gum line, managing the bacteria causing poor oral health, according to St. Joseph’s Health System, a multi-hospital and care network based in Ontario. The treatment is described as “painless and can be delivered conveniently, quickly, and without aerosols.”
According to CHX Technologies, poor oral health is a common and expensive chronic disease for adults. The Canadian research-based pharmaceutical company developed Prevora.
“Many patients receiving home healthcare services experience poor oral health because they have difficulty maintaining good oral hygiene, cannot easily get to the dentist, or have a medical condition such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or congestive heart failure (CHF) that is interrelated with inflammation of the gums,” the organization said in a press release. “Moreover, poor oral health can lead to extra visits to the doctor and more hospital care.”
Study to observe improvements in patients’ health and quality of life
Prevora has been shown “to be safe, effective, and well accepted by thousands of adults with a high risk of poor oral health,” based on more than 20 years of controlled studies, according to St. Joseph’s Health System in a press release.
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“As the Government of Canada develops a new national dental plan for high-risk groups, it is timely to assess how non-invasive preventive dental care can be integrated into our overall healthcare system,” said Carrie Beltzner, interim president of St. Joseph’s Home Care and principal investigator of the study, in the press release. “This feasibility study is particularly exciting because it is the first to work out the delivery of preventive oral healthcare by a hygienist-nurse team during routine home care visits.”
CHX co-sponsored the study along with Innovation Factory’s Southern Ontario Pharmaceutical and Health Innovation Ecosystem program.
Up to 30 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or congestive heart failure are being enrolled for the study. Over five months of home care visits, the study will observe improvements in areas such as oral health, blood markers of inflammation and quality of life.
The study’s results are expected in the second quarter of 2024.
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