BELLEVUE, WA – September 6, 2009 – OraHealth Corporation, the world leader in the technology of oral adhering discs, donated over 5,000 CankerMelts® discs to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where over 53% of the population is living in severe poverty. Through Global Medical Brigades, a Chapter of the University of Washington, OraHealth was able to participate by adding this oral healthcare product to the Medical Brigades’ program that serves some of the most impoverished people of Honduras. “As we produce oral healthcare products for the public, we are also aware that there are people worldwide that do not have access to the most basic needs, including medical care. We want to make a difference in any way possible and we are honored to be working with Global Medical Brigades, who work tirelessly for those in need.” Stated Jeff Haley, the founder of OraHealth Corporation.

CankerMelts is the only all-natural canker sore treatment clinically-proven to relieve canker sore pain, using a patented dissolving time-release disc that allows precise application of natural collagen and licorice root extract directly to the sore.

About OraHealth – OraHealth is the world leader in the breakthrough technology of “oral adhering discs”, which time-release therapeutic levels of medication precisely where it’s needed. When you choose OraHealth products, you know you’re getting high-quality, innovative oral care solutions that are solidly backed by careful research based on medical science. Today, OraHealth prepares to lead a new era in treatments and prevention of diseases of the mouth. Each product is designed, in the tradition of CankerMelts, to be the best of its kind: effective, easy to use and as safe as possible for our customers.

About Global Medical Brigade – Global Medical Brigades is a secular, international student operated volunteer organization whose mission is to provide sustained health care relief to under-served communities throughout the world. Along with affiliate groups at other distinguished universities, the UW team recruits student volunteers, medical professionals, gathers medicine and then travels overseas to perform these medical “brigades.”

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Source: Prevention Magazine

Over the counter product: CankerMelts

Discussion: Aphthous stomatitis, or
canker sores, are noncontagious mouth ulcers/sores afflicting 25% of the Ameri- can population, primarily females younger than 20 years. Recurrent outbreaks may occur three to four times a year.1 Specific causes are unknown; however, stress, trauma, infections, and hormonal changes during menses have been associated with outbreaks.2–4 Initial symptoms are various sized white/yellowish/gray lesions in the form of liquid-filled craters surrounded by an erythematous halo. These heal spon- taneously within 1 to 2 weeks.1 The ulcers are very painful, worsening with eating/ drinking. No cure exists for canker sores, although symptomatic relief is available. Treatment goals are controlling pain, promoting healing, and preventing recur- rence using peroxide solutions, topical anesthetics, topical protectants, topical steroids, and/or systemic analgesics.5,6 Complementary alternative medicine has also been used including, licorice (GX) and slippery elm.

Licorice root contains GX, specifically flavanoids, which have antioxidant, anti- inflammatory, and antiviral properties.7 In a small 1989 study, a licorice root extract rinse was administered with significant reduction in pain and lesion duration, although palatability was an issue.

Orahealth, along with the National Institutes of Health and the University of Washington, developed a highly concen- trated, palatable, oral GX-containing disk that self-adheres on or adjacent to the ulcer.9 Haley et al.10 reported that 26 of 27 patients using the disk reported heal- ing of their lesions within 3 days and pain relief within 5 minutes of application. The results of a follow-up study indicated sig- nificant benefits in pain reduction and visual ulcer resolution.11–13 Although small studies have demonstrated potential ben- efit and genotoxic studies have indicated that GX is neither mutagenic nor terato- genic, use of GX requires further study.14 Each disk contains natural GX 30 mg with added collagen, which, according to the manufacturer, aids in reducing pain and pain duration. To experience systemic adverse effects, the patient would have to use at least 90 discs within a 72-hour period. As an alternative medicine, the safety and effectiveness of GX have not been demonstrated to FDA, and phar- macists making such recommendations risk the legal consequences of making unsupported verbal claims for unproven products.

Category: Canker sore treatment
Manufacturer: Orahealth
Ingredient: Licorice (glycyrrhiza
root extract [GX]) with added collagen
Use: Treatment of symptomatic aphthous
ulcers
Availability: Package of 12 timereleased
adhesive disks

Download full Pharmacy Today February 2009 Issue
Source: pharmacytoday.org

For two decades, patent attorney Jeff Haley helped other people start companies. A lifelong inventor, Haley held patents in his name but nothing worth launching a company until 2001.

That’s when his passion for inventing collided with his training as a chemist to solve his aggravating canker-sore problem.

The medicine — licorice-root extract — is not as exciting as the vehicle that delivers it, a little patch that people place over the sore. Its adhesive is strong enough that it will not slip off but gentle enough that it does not irritate lips and gums.

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Source: The Seattle Times

Recurrent aphthous ulcers (RAU) are a common and painful condition. This article describes a randomized, double-blind clinical trial of an over-the-counter medicated intraoral adhesive patch for treatment of RAU. Subjects were randomly assigned to either an active drug (patch with extract of glycyrrhiza root) or placebo patch treatment group (both n = 23) at onset of a lesion. Lesion size and pain report (unstimulated and stimulated) were assessed at intervals. A no-treatment group (n = 23) also was recruited and assessed similarly. By the eighth day, the ulcer size for the active treatment group was significantly lower (p < 0.05), while the lesions in the no-treatment group increased 13% from baseline. By the fourth day, the active treatment group reported significantly less pre-stimulus pain (p < 0.01); at this point, 81% of this group reported no pre-stimulus pain, compared with 63% of the placebo patch group and 40% of the no-treatment group.

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Source: Academy of General Dentistry

CankerMelts patches reduce pain and speed resolution of canker sores
March 23, 2007

Today, during the 85th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research, scientists are reporting that they have developed a method for the effective healing of, and relief of pain associated with, canker sores.

Canker sores (scientifically known as aphthous ulcers) are painful recurring ulcers inside the mouth that afflict 60 million Americans. They are not viral or contagious. The most common form, called minor aphthous ulcers, are less than 10 mm in diameter and typically heal within 10-14 days. The direct cause of canker sores is unknown, but studies have shown that stress, family history, and cuts in the mouth (like those caused by braces or accidental bites) are indirect causes. Diet may be a factor for some people as well, though specific triggering foods have not been identified. There are no significant complications caused by unhealed canker sores, but the acute mouth pain can interfere with the ability to eat, drink, or speak and impair the sufferer’s quality of life.

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Source: brightsurf.com

March 22, 2007 — A new over-the-counter patch may help canker sores heal faster.

Scientists (including the patch’s inventor) announced that news today in New Orleans at the 85th general session of the International Association for Dental Research.

The researchers studied 46 adults with recurrent canker sores, also called recurrent aphthous ulcers.

Half of the patients received the patches, called Cankermelts, which the researchers say contain licorice extract to curb inflammation. Those patients were told to put the herbal patch over their canker sore for 16 hours per day but not to wear the patches while sleeping.

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Source: webmd.com

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Preventive effects of bioactive B12 in adhering discs for RAU
Burgess JA, Diplomate American Board of Oral Medicine, Oral Care Research Associates; Haley JT, Orahealth Corporation.

Background: Recurrent aphthous ulceration (RAU) causes significant pain and oral dysfunction. Studies suggest that in cases of B12 deficiency and RAU, replacement therapy can be effective in reducing ulceration. Studies using B12 in swallowed tablets for RAU without B12 deficiency are equivocal. A case study suggests that high doses of injected cyanocobalamin can cause remission of ulcers with borderline B12 deficiency…

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Click here to download full article