MRI of gingivitis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A magnetic resonance imaging study of subjects with normal gingival health and gingivitis.
IRAS ID
160378
Contact name
Francis J Hughes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
GSK
Research summary
The purpose of this study is to investigate if it is possible to tell if someone has gingivitis of the mouth by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using with the use of an MRI scanner.
Gingivitis is inflammation of the gums, which results in gum bleeding and can also result in disease progression to chronic periodontitis, where the inflammation spreads to the deeper gum tissues resulting in progressive loss of support for the teeth, increasing looseness of the teeth, and ultimately tooth loss. Monitoring of gum health is thus of considerable importance to prevent future risk of more serious gum disease, and accurate gum assessment is of great importance for the testing of novel treatments and products that are designed to improve gum health.
The measurement of gum heath has traditionally relied on a careful clinical examination carried out by a clinically qualified assessor. However this is very subjective, rather insensitive to changes in the tissues and relies on training of examiners to ensure that each assessment is consistent in grading the gingivitis.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to provide detailed images of soft tissue such as the gum. An MRI is unable to see teeth, but due to areas such as the gum containing water it is possible to see these, and determine the levels of inflammation by looking at the level of water in the gum area. This exploratory study aims to determine if it is possible to use the MRI to grade the level of gingivitis and to compare it to healthy gums.
To do this we plan to recruit a group of volunteers, some with gingivitis and some with healthy gums, and to investigate the MRI appearance of their gums.REC name
South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/SC/1147
Date of REC Opinion
4 Aug 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion