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AzTrials

HalitosisNCT04120948

Laser Tongue Debridement for Oral Malodor

A study testing Waterlase Express Laser System and Tongue scraper in people with Halitosis, run by New York Head & Neck Institute at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Malodor is a multifactorial condition with oral pathology representing the main culprit and the tongue being the first to second contributor to the malodor. Bacterial load can represent a quantifiable measure regardless of the original pathology. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 70 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Halitosis
What is being tested?
Waterlase Express Laser System and Tongue scraper
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
54 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
1 Aug 2018to 1 Oct 2018
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 70 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • an individual (male or female) who can understand and voluntarily sign an informed consent form
  • a baseline organoleptic oral malodor score of at least 2

Who cannot join

  • severe caries,
  • signs of gingival inflammation on intraoral exam
  • possible extra-oral halitosis (tonsillitis, sinusitis, and pulmonary pathologic conditions, or a condition that may contribute to systemic halitosis, such as hepatic cirrhosis or uncontrolled diabetes)
  • antibiotic treatment within 1 month prior to study
  • pregnant

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • New York Head & Neck Institute offices

    New York, New York, 10019

Other trials in United States

About this study

Malodor is a multifactorial condition with oral pathology representing the main culprit and the tongue being the first to second contributor to the malodor. Bacterial load can represent a quantifiable measure regardless of the original pathology. It is hypothesized that reduction in malodor can be represented by tongue changes both in appearance, bacterial and biofilm load reduction (measured by CFU and volatile gases measurement), organoleptic measurement and subjective improvement.

Methods: A randomized controlled prospective study under IRB approval. Diagnostic criteria for enrollment and follow up were organoleptic test by 2 judges, halimeter reading, tongue colores changes HALT questionnaire and direct aerobic and anaerobic tongue cultures measured by CFU. Patients were treated with laser tongue debridement (LTD) with an Er,Cr:YSGG solid state laser has been shown to be effective in biofilm reduction.

Conditions
Halitosis
Being tested
Waterlase Express Laser System, Tongue scraper
Medical subject headings
Halitosis

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Waterlase Express Laser SystemDevice

    10-minute treatment with the Waterlase Express (Biolase, Irvine CA). The dorso-posterior surface of the tongue is treated with the laser in 10 passes of 60 seconds each with 10 seconds of rest in between. Laser settings were 60μs pulse width, 4W, 40Hz, 10% air and 5% water irrigation. An MC12 sapphire laser tip (Biolase, Irvine CA) is held 3mm away from the tongue in a constant sweeping motion during treatment with passes overlapping passes in alternate direction, side to side motion and front to back motion with laser fluence on the tongue surface calculated at 3J/cm2. The settings were non ablative and non thermal.

  • Tongue scraperDevice

    mechanical scraping of the dorso-posterior surface of the tongue

Study groups in NCT04120948
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Waterlase Express Laser SystemExperimental10-minute treatment with the Waterlase Express (Biolase, Irvine CA). The dorso-posterior surface of the tongue is treated with the laser in 10 passes of 60 seconds each with 10 seconds of rest in between. Laser settings were 60μs pulse width, 4W, 40Hz, 10% air and 5% water irrigation. An MC12 sapphire laser tip (Biolase, Irvine CA) is held 3mm away from the tongue in a constant sweeping motion during treatment with passes overlapping passes in alternate direction, side to side motion and front to back motion with laser fluence on the tongue surface calculated at 3J/cm2. The settings were non ablative and non thermal.
Receives: Device: Waterlase Express Laser System
Tongue scraperActive comparatortongue scraping
Receives: Device: Tongue scraper

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Halimeter measurement

    Measurement of volatile sulfur compounds in patient's breath.

    Measured: change from baseline to 1 month

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. HALT questionnaire

    Quality of life (QOL) questionnaire that ranks responses. The total score is evaluated on a scale of 0-100. A score of 0 correlates to no perceived effect on QOL, and a score of 100 correlates to a severe perceived effect on QOL.

    Measured: change from baseline to 1 month

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted9 Oct 2019
  2. Study start1 Aug 2018
  3. Primary completion1 Oct 2018
  4. Study completion1 Oct 2018

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Participant
Enrolment
54 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04120948
Sponsor's protocol ID
NY Head and Neck
Status last verified
Oct 2019
First submitted
25 Sep 2019
Last updated
9 Oct 2019
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
Yes
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Krespi YP, Kizhner V, Wilson KA, Sivriver A, Low S, Khosravi Y, Stoodley P. Laser tongue debridement for oral malodor-A novel approach to halitosis. Am J Otolaryngol. 2021 Jan-Feb;42(1):102458. doi: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2020.102458. Epub 2020 Mar 13.

    PubMed 33045536

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Waterlase Express Laser System and Tongue scraper in people with Halitosis, run by New York Head & Neck Institute at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 Oct 2019. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Halimeter measurement (time frame: change from baseline to 1 month). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04120948, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 9 Oct 2019.

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