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IRB No. 02-288-2 (Dr. Anna Dongari-Bagtzoglou, PI): Oral Epithelial Cell Cytokines Candida and PMN Activation

This is a research study that examines the ways by which human blood cells fight yeast infections of the mouth. More specifically, we are interested in the activation of human cells in response to mucosal cell products called cytokines.

IRB No. 07-016-1 (Dr. Martin Freilich, PI): Osteoporosis and bone augmentation/implant outcomes: An observational study

The objective of this study is to utilize a clinical study model to collect descriptive data needed to support the development of future studies that will test the association between specific measures of bone health and the successful integration of new bone from bone augmentation procedures. Postmenopausal women with a wide range of bone health and reduced jaw bone thickness will receive bone augmentation therapy followed by implant and restoration placement, with the specific treatment based upon best clinical judgment. Throughout initial diagnosis, treatment and follow-up, blood makrers will be drawn to assess bone health and its possible association with treatment outcomes. Outcomes will be based upon clinical and radiographic examination, bone health markers and patient interviews.

IRB No. 14-041HO-1 (Dr. Rajesh Lalla, PI): Clinical Registry of Dental Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Patients (ORARAD)

The ORARAD study is a prospective cohort study to document dental and other oral outcomes in patients who receive radiation therapy as part of treatment for a head and neck cancer. Seven hundred and fifty-six participants will be enrolled nationally over a three year period. Of these, 135 will be enrolled at UCHC. All participants will be seen for the study before starting radiation therapy then at six-month intervals for up to two years after the start of radiation therapy. The primary outcome will be the two-year rate of tooth loss after radiation therapy. Secondary outcomes will include measures of dental caries, periodontal health, salivary flow, and exposed bone/osteoradionecrosis.

IRB No. 23-052-1 (Dr. Mark Litt, PI): Mobile Application Treatment for TMD: Feasibility Trial

This is a proposal for an administrative supplement to the parent study, “Individualized Assessment and Treatment Program for TMD: Coping as a Mechanism” (U01 DE028520). The parent study is currently engaged in exploring the extent to which the training of coping skills per se is an important mechanism of psychosocial treatment. The current project seeks to lay the groundwork for expanding the range of treatment mechanisms examined to include therapeutic relationship factors (therapist support, empathy, acknowledgment). Psychosocial treatments have been effective for temporomandibular disorders (TMD), but the mechanisms of action for these treatments are unclear. Most studies of psychosocial treatment, including the parent U01, have focused on relatively specific psychosocial mechanisms, including coping skills acquisition, pain management self-efficacy, decrease in catastrophizing, increased mindfulness, acceptance, and readiness to change behavior to ameliorate pain. The 2 therapist-delivered treatments in the parent study are packaged CBT or Individualized Assessment and Treatment (IATP). Left untested in this study are common therapeutic factors that often emerge as influential in pain outcome research. These common, non-specific therapeutic factors include (especially): the therapeutic alliance; interpretation and understanding; emotional expression; reinforcement; information; and reassurance and support. Because both conditions of the parent U01 involve similar levels of therapist involvement, therapist support and other treatment-non-specific variables cannot be tested clearly. One way to assess these factors is to introduce a pain treatment that explicitly does not contain these factors; i.e., a treatment that does not employ therapists or require supervision by health care professionals. There are currently no studies published in which therapist-led treatments have been compared to a mobile application-based treatment. We therefore propose to pilot test a mobile application treatment condition (painTrainer©) added as an additional treatment condition to the parent study, and provided to 20 patients in the coming year. This condition will deliver the content of the CBT condition of the parent study, but will do so with no therapist contact. If this mobile application is found credible and acceptable it may be used in additional comparisons with treatments conducted by therapists. Thus at some point we will be able to parse the effects of cognitive-behavioral treatment content per se and therapist support factors. An additional benefit of testing such a mobile application is that it might in the future provide a means to expand the reach of pain management professionals to remote and underserved populations.