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Assessing the effectiveness of Hospital-Based Manufactured Medical Device Restorabite for treatment of Trismus in adults after head and neck cancer surgery

Efficacy of Hospital-Based Manufactured Medical Device Restorabite for treatment of Trismus in adults after head and neck cancer surgery

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ANZCTR
Registry ID
ACTRN12621000585820
Enrollment
120
Registered
2021-05-18
Start date
2021-08-10
Completion date
2022-12-23
Last updated
2022-10-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

This study aims to assess the efficacy of Restorabite, a trismus treatment device, as an early intervention for trismus and its impact on quality of life for patients with head and neck cancer. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 or older, you have a diagnosis of head and neck cancer, and you are experiencing trouble opening your jaw wider than 35mm. Study details Participants will attend 10 x 1 hour weekly sessions with a speech pathologist, where they will be taken through passive and active jaw range of motion exercises. They will also be instructed to complete 20 minutes of home practice daily over the 10 week study period. Data on changes in jaw opening distance and quality of life will be collected over a 12 month period. It is hoped that this study will demonstrate that the Restorabite device is effective in treating trismus in patients with head and neck cancer, which could lead to an improvement in quality of life for these patients.

Interventions

The use of Restorabite will be offered to participants for the treatment of trismus after head and neck cancer surgery in place of other standard of care devices such as Ark-J (stacked wooden tongue depressor) or TheraBite. Restorabite is a mass produced and non-custom made device, however, participants will be assigned to a specific insert by treating speech pathologist and surgeon depending on the severity of trismus and the recovery from the surgery. Participants will be asked to be involve

The use of Restorabite will be offered to participants for the treatment of trismus after head and neck cancer surgery in place of other standard of care devices such as Ark-J (stacked wooden tongue depressor) or TheraBite. Restorabite is a mass produced and non-custom made device, however, participants will be assigned to a specific insert by treating speech pathologist and surgeon depending on the severity of trismus and the recovery from the surgery. Participants will be asked to be involved with following interventions. • Passive jaw range of motion exercises using Restorabite • Active jaw range of motion exercises using Restorabite • 10 x 1hr weekly sessions face to face at speech pathology clinic at hospital or over telehealth with speech pathology with minimum 3 years' experience. Gradual progression through the force hierarchy as clinically indicated. • Home practice: daily for 20 minutes for duration of study (10 weeks). • Measurement of Interincisal distance at baseline, at the end of 10 x weekly sessions, 6 months and 12 months follow up appointment Passive and active jaw range of motion exercises is a continuous exercise performed with Restorabite. It involves inserting the pressed down Restorabite between the front teeth and letting the device stretch the jaw (passive motion exercise) then bite down on the mouth guards (active motion exercise). Then repeat the letting go of the bite (passive motion exercise) and biting down on the device (active motion exercise). During the 1 hour weekly session, speech pathologist will determine how many repetitions should be carried out and recommend the duration of each exercise (ie Hold the passive action for 1 minute then hold the active action for 1 minute. Repeat 10 times). Participants will be asked to carry out a personalised exercise regime as home practice every day. During the 1 hour weekly session, speech pathologist will determine the passive and active motion exercise regime for coming week. Interincisal distance will be measured at the start of the session then participants will be asked to carry out the prescribed exercise regime. Interincisal distance will be measured at the end of the session to observe a change in interincisal distance. To monitor adherence to the intervention speech pathologists will closely follow up participants. To increase the adherence to the intervention, speech pathologists will set up a 10 week appointment plan at the beginning of the trial and also offer tele-health appointments.

Sponsors

Chris O'Brien Lifehouse
Lead SponsorHospital

Study design

Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

• 18 years and older • Diagnosis of head and neck cancer (HNC) • Undergone surgery for their HNC • Patients with an interincisal distance (IID) of 35mm or less • Willingness to give informed consent

Exclusion criteria

Patients where trismus therapy is contraindicated due to medical/surgical parameters, guided by their managing physician.

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ANZCTR · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026