Imaging can detect response to dry mouth toothpaste

June 26, 2012 in Medical research In vivo optical coherence tomography imaging can detect response to dry mouth toothpaste in patients with xerostomia, according to a pilot study published online June 13 in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. (HealthDay) -- In vivo optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging can detect response to dry mouth toothpaste in patients with xerostomia, according to a pilot study published online June 13 in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. Steven Duong, from the University of California in Irvine, and colleagues randomized 10 patients with xerostomia to a dry mouth toothpaste versus fluoride toothpaste placebo. Participants used the first product for 15 days, followed by a seven-day washout period, and then they used the second product for 15 days. The sequence of product use was randomized. Data were acquired at five-day intervals, before and after the washout. Participants were examined and assessed with OCT imaging. The researchers found that there was no response to the product observed in either visual examination or the tongue blade adhesion test. Imaging identified that epithelial thickness increased significantly after use of the dry mouth toothpaste, but it did not change significantly after the use of fluoride toothpaste. Progressive characteristic changes from baseline seen on optical backscattering occurred with use of the dry mouth product. "In this pilot study using in vivo OCT imaging, it was possible to detect and measure oral epithelial response to the dry mouth product versus placebo in patients with xerostomia," the authors write.