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Ear Plugs Versus Acupressure for Management of Severe Gag Reflex

Ear Plugs Versus Acupressure for Management of Severe Gag Reflex: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Status
UNKNOWN
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02938364
Enrollment
30
Registered
2016-10-19
Start date
2016-10-25
Completion date
2019-01-31
Last updated
2018-04-12

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

Conditions

Gagging

Brief summary

The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of two proposed non-invasive techniques: the ear plug technique and acupressure on the P6 point in reducing gag reflex during impression making and to assess patient's experience in terms of comfort and satisfaction.

Detailed description

The study will take place at the clinics of Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy (RCsDP) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Patients, who on previous occasions have demonstrated difficulties in accepting the procedure of making impressions of maxillary teeth due to a severe gag reflex (GR) will be invited to participate in the study. A Randomized single blinded clinical trial will be conducted on 30 participants who fulfill the inclusion criteria. Participants will be assigned to three separate groups. For each patient, two maxillary alginate impressions will be made; one before applying the proposed management technique and one after. Participants of Group EP (n=10) will be managed using earplugs while Group AC (n=10) will be managed using acupressure band and Group PL (n=10) will receive placebo management in forms of regular bands. Informed consent will be obtained from all participants. All impressions will be made by one dentist that will be blinded to the gag reflex (GR) management techniques. The GR evaluation for all the participants will be performed by another calibrated dentist who is also blinded to the applied technique. The severity of gag reflex will be assessed during making of the first impression using Dickinson & Fiske (2005) gagging severity index (GSI). After 20 minutes of making the first impression, participants of Group EP will be asked to place the earplugs in and wait in the waiting room for 10 minutes. Then, the second impression will be made while the participant still has the earplugs on. Group AC will have acupressure technique via sea aid bands which will be placed on the P6 points of both hand wrists. Participants will be asked to wait in the waiting room for 10 minutes then the second impression will be made. PL Group will have the placebo management via placebo bands ( with no pressure points ) which will be placed on both hand wrists. Participants will also be asked to wait in the waiting room for 10 minutes then the second impression will be made. The effectiveness of the treatment will be assessed using Dickinson & Fiske (2005) gagging prevention index (GPI). Participants will be asked to rate their discomfort during impression making using visual analogue scale (VAS).

Interventions

Plastic earplugs on both ears

OTHERAcupressure

Sea Bands put on the wrists of the participant to apply pressure on P6 points

OTHERPlacebo

Non pressure bands put on the wrists of the participant

Sponsors

Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* The individual is able to give informed consent. * Patients with GR severity that are assigned to a gagging severity index (GSI) III-IV (for standardization of the baseline severity in between Groups).

Exclusion criteria

* Pregnant women * Patients with Chronic heart diseases or cardiac pacemakers * Patients with central or peripheral nervous system disorders * Patients with oral lesions * Patients with gastrointestinal disorders.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change from baseline Gagging severity index scoreAt the time of first impression which is made before applying the intervention method (baseline score) and again at the time of the second impression which is made after application of the intervention method by 10 minutesGagging severity index (GSI) is a scale of gagging severity which ranges from 1 to 5 (very mild to very severe)

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change from baseline Visual Analogue Scale scoring of patient's satisfaction during impression makingDirectly after first impression which is made before applying the intervention (baseline score) and directly after the second impression which is made after application of the intervention method by 10 minutesThe participant will be asked to score their judgment of the impression experience on a 0-10 scale where 0 refers to extremely pleasant and 10 refers to extremely unpleasant

Countries

Saudi Arabia

Contacts

Primary ContactMohammad R Rayyan, master
dr_rayyan@riyadh.edu.sa+966508821318

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026