ORAHEALTH in the News Press Releases

March 25, 2005

There’s good news for more than 50 million Americans who regularly suffer from common mouth ulcers such as canker sores, denture sores, and sores resulting from braces or from biting the lip or cheek.

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Dentistry say glycyrrhiza herbal extract (GX), as delivered in new Cankermelts medicated discs, developed by Orahealth USA, Inc., shows promise as the first, clinically proven over-the-counter medication to speed the healing process and relieve the pain of canker sores.

“Preliminary trials tested glycyrrhiza extract (GX) delivered as an oral topical, timed-release patch on subjects with newly developed canker sores,” said Michael Martin, DMD, Ph.D., Associate Professor, in the Department of Oral Medicine at the University of Washington. “Patients using the GX patch on a sore up to 16 hours per day reported healing times between one and three days for 98% of the ulcers treated. These results are remarkable considering that the typical healing time is seven to 14 days. Many subjects also reported that the discs relieved pain while they were in place.”

According to Dr. Martin, the results were so promising that the U.S. National Institutes of Health provided a grant to conduct a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at the University of Washington to verify and further characterize the benefits of using Cankermelts-GX to treat ordinary canker sores.

Canker sores are not viral or contagious. The primary causes are: 1) genetic predisposition, 2) psychological stress, and 3) oral lacerations in your mouth from biting or other means. Diet may also be a factor in some individuals, though specific triggering foods have not been identified.

Traditional over-the-counter and prescription treatments involve mouth rinses, oral gels and tablets that contain medicine to numb the sore and/or form a protective film over the sore. While these treatments provide temporary symptomatic pain relief, they may be difficult to use, the numbness can make talking, chewing, and swallowing more difficult, and they offer no healing benefit.

The glycyrrhiza oral patch is unique because its patented delivery system allows the medicated disc to adhere inside the mouth on or near the sore without impeding normal functions such as talking, chewing and swallowing. As the time-released medicine is delivered, it appears to promote healing, provides pain relief without numbing in as little as five to 10 minutes, and naturally dissolves over two to six hours.

For more information about Cankermelts-GX and stores that carry it, visit www.orahealth.com.