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Subjects Needed for Oral Study
(posted Feb 13)
The Oral Health Research Institute of the Indiana University School of Dentistry is recruiting persons who are wearing lower partial dentures to test toothpaste products. The screening runs from February through March, but the Institute accepts names continuously year round. Persons who screen receive $20 cash whether they qualify or not. Persons who qualify and participate in the lower partial denture studies can earn up to $600 per study.
According to Sue Kelly, Research Administrative Manager and Associate Director of the Clinical Core, this type of research began at the Institute in 1981, and while modified from its original model, allows private industries to fund studies to test the effectiveness of new toothpastes. The research goes through the Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Institutional Review Board on the IUPUI campus, which reviews all studies for participant safety before giving their stamp of approval for the research to begin.
The Institute maintains a lower partial denture panel of about 100 to 150
participants who are periodically called to participate in research studies.
The lower partial denture studies involve using teeth specimens that are
made from human teeth sent to the Institute by oral surgeons and sterilized
at University Hospital. During a study, the specimens (about 4mm square
in size) are temporarily placed in the outer fake gum section in the back
of the lower partial denture. It is important for the specimens to be exposed
to human saliva and bacteria while brushing to see how it absorbs the fluoride
from the toothpaste. The participant will randomly be given three or four
toothpastes to brush with during a study which might last three or four
months. The toothpaste test groups include a placebo, one or two gold standard
products (marketed toothpaste products), and the new product.
She said this particular study is very social and that she has had one client returning now for 27 years.
The Institute is always conducting different research studies. Kelly described
another study that often attracts college students. It requires the subjects
to insert a retainer like device that is worn in the roof of the mouth
that holds bovine teeth specimens to test how well the test toothpaste
prevents high acid products, like grapefruit juice and colas, from eroding
tooth enamel. Bovine teeth are used because they are more sensitive to
dental erosion than human teeth. For the test to run properly, the toothpaste
needs to be exposed to human saliva to form a film over the teeth. After
the testing is completed, the specimens are sent back to the lab where
tests are run that mimic the exposure of colas and grapefruit juice on
the teeth to test how well the tooth paste protects the enamel. She said
college students like the four hour test because they can bring in their
laptops and do assignments while earning $125 per four hour test period.
For more information about the different type of studies at the Oral Health
Research Institute call 274-8822 and talk to a recruiter who will determine
if you might be eligible to be in a study
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