DementiaNCT04238520
Functionally-tailored Oral Care Intervention for Community-dwelling Older Adults With Dementia and Their Caregivers
A study testing Functionally Tailored Oral Care Intervention in people with Dementia and Cognitive Impairment, run by Xi Chen at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The specific aims of this study are: Aim 1. Develop a staged and modifiable dyadic oral care intervention to provide functionally-tailored oral care rehabilitation for community-dwelling persons with dementia (PWD) and need-based skills training their family caregivers (CGs). Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 100 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Dementia, Cognitive Impairment
- What is being tested?
- Functionally Tailored Oral Care Intervention
- Type of treatment
- Pill or oral medicine, Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 26 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 22 Apr 2020to 4 Aug 2023
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 100 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- 18 years or older
- English-speaking
- Willing to participate in the study
- Diagnosis of Dementia
- Age 50 years or older or 18 years or older with Huntington's Disease
- Community-dwelling
Show all 10Show fewer
- English speaking
- Have natural teeth
- Not blind, deaf, or severely disabled
- Have a caregiver that is age equal or 18+ years old, English speaking, cognitively intact, and willing to participate in the study
Who cannot join
- Cognitively impaired
- Blind, deaf, or severely disabled
- Joint replacement with a history of prosthetic joint infection
- Requires immediate dental referrals
- Have oral cancer or active oral infection or 3) is actively dying.
- Actively dying
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
The specific aims of this study are:
Aim 1. Develop a staged and modifiable dyadic oral care intervention to provide functionally-tailored oral care rehabilitation for community-dwelling persons with dementia (PWD) and need-based skills training their family caregivers (CGs). Based on the literature review and MCWB, a 4-week intervention with 8 modules, including universal modules (e.g., environmental changes), CG modules (e.g., cuing strategies) and modules for both PWD and CGs (e.g., oral care techniques), will be developed addressing the relevant SCT constructs (e.g., functional deficits of PWD and caregiving needs of CGs). Guided by a validated, widely-used theory of rehabilitation medicine, modules will be used alone or in combination to provide personalized, hand-on, functionally-tailored oral care rehabilitation for PWD along with skills training for CGs to match their caregiving needs. The training focus shifts from the PWD to the CG, as the independence of the PWD decreases. Semi-structured interviews with family CGs will then be conducted (until data saturation is reached) to understand their oral care needs, desired intervention approaches, and the perceived feasibility and utility of the intervention. The intervention will be revised and then pilot tested with 4 dyads, one per each of the four functional levels of the DAT.
Aim 2. Evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the intervention in home settings through a randomized, controlled trial with 40 pairs of PWD and their primary CGs, including immediate post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. Dyads will be stratified into 4 functional levels based on the PWD's DAT score and then randomly assigned to the intervention or control (non-tailored usual care) group.
Read the detailed description
This study aims to develop and evaluate a functionally-tailored oral hygiene intervention to improve oral health for community-dwelling persons with dementia, while also reducing caregiver burden and improving the care partner relationship. The study consists of two phases. First, we will develop a modularized, functionally-tailorable oral care intervention based on caregiver qualitative interviews and existing literature. The second phase will then examine the efficacy and feasibility of the intervention through a randomized controlled trial (3 intervention: 1control ratio)with 40 Persons with Dementia/caregiver dyads. Control participants will receive the standard oral hygiene education currently provided to persons with Dementia during dental care. The Intervention group will receive 4-week, dyadic, hands-on, functionally-tailored oral care intervention. We will collect data at baseline, 4-weeks, and 3 months post intervention. After data collection, the differences in the control and intervention groups in regard to their oral hygiene, behavioral symptoms during oral care, caregiver outcomes (burden, self-efficacy) and care partner relationship will be explored.
The specific aims of this study are:
Aim 1. Develop a staged and modifiable dyadic oral care intervention to provide functionally-tailored oral care rehabilitation for community-dwelling persons with dementia (PWD) and need-based skills training their family caregivers (CGs). Based on the literature review and MCWB, a 4-week intervention with 8 modules, including universal modules (e.g., environmental changes), CG modules (e.g., cuing strategies) and modules for both PWD and CGs (e.g., oral care techniques), will be developed addressing the relevant SCT constructs (e.g., functional deficits of PWD and caregiving needs of CGs). Guided by a validated, widely-used theory of rehabilitation medicine, modules will be used alone or in combination to provide personalized, hand-on, functionally-tailored oral care rehabilitation for PWD along with skills training for CGs to match their caregiving needs. The training focus shifts from the PWD to the CG, as the independence of the PWD decreases. Semi-structured interviews with family CGs will then be conducted (until data saturation is reached) to understand their oral care needs, desired intervention approaches, and the perceived feasibility and utility of the intervention. The intervention will be revised and then pilot tested with 4 dyads, one per each of the four functional levels of the DAT.
Aim 2. Evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the intervention in home settings through a randomized, controlled trial with 40 pairs of PWD and their primary CGs, including immediate post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. Dyads will be stratified into 4 functional levels based on the PWD's DAT score and then randomly assigned to the intervention or control (non-tailored usual care) group.
Sub-Aim 2.1 Evaluate the feasibility of the intervention across four domains: acceptability, demand, implementation, and practicality. We will interview the dyads and review their daily oral care logs at both post-intervention and 3-month follow-up, assessing satisfaction with, acceptability of, and actual use of the intervention. Oral care trainers will complete intervention logs following each training session to document the extent of content delivery, diversion from the protocol, resources used, and perceptions about intervention success. Exit interviews with PWD (when possible), CGs, and trainers will be conducted to identify potential barriers, facilitators, and needed changes.
Sub-Aim 2.2 Examine the efficacy of the intervention. We hypothesize that both PWD oral hygiene and CG self-efficacy in providing oral care will show clinically significant improvements for the intervention group compared to the control group. Secondary outcomes for PWD (e.g., behavior symptoms during oral care), CGs (e.g., oral care related burden) and the dyadic relationship (e.g., the Dyadic Relationship Scale) will also be explored.
- Conditions
- Dementia, Cognitive Impairment
- Being tested
- Functionally Tailored Oral Care Intervention, Control Intervention
- Keywords
- Dementia, Caregiver, Family Relations, Oral Hygiene, Cognitive Impairment, Functional Level, Oral Health Education
- Medical subject headings
- Dementia, Cognitive Dysfunction
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Functionally Tailored Oral Care InterventionBehavioural
Participants receive a 4-week, hands-on, functionally-tailored intervention. The intervention will address topics including tooth brushing, denture care, inter-dental care, tongue care, and dry mouth care. There will be four sessions in total, with each intervention session lasting approximately 45 minutes.
Control InterventionBehavioural
Participants will receive a home-based, un-tailored oral care training. The training includes a tooth brushing and dental care demonstration, and information about oral diseases and dry mouth. This training will be 15 minutes in duration. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in the functionally tailored intervention following the end of this study.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Control | Other | PWD/CG dyads Receives: Behavioral: Control Intervention |
| Interventional | Experimental | PWD/CG dyads Receives: Behavioral: Functionally Tailored Oral Care Intervention |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Person With Dementia: Oral Hygiene
We used the Debris Index (DI) of the Oral Hygiene Index (a scale of 0 to 3, with lower values indicating no debris present and higher values indicating more soft debris on the tooth. Also called plaque score) to assess PWD's oral hygiene status. We used the percentage change in plaque scores between baseline and 3 months to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed intervention on improving PWD's oral hygiene.
Measured: Baseline and 3 Months
Self-perceived Oral Care-giving Efficacy
Self-perceived Oral Care-giving Efficacy scale included 19 items to assess self-perceived efficacy in providing oral care to care recipients. We assessed CG's self-perceived oral care-giving efficacy at the baseline and 3-month follow-up visit. We used the percentage change in Self-perceived Oral Care-giving Efficacy scores between the baseline and 3-month follow-up to examine the effectiveness of the proposed intervention on improving CG's oral care-giving skills. Higher scores indicate a better improvement in self-perceived efficacy.
Measured: Baseline and 3 Months
Secondary outcomes (1)
Dyadic Relationship
Dyadic Relationship Scale (DRS) to measure strain between the caregiver and recipient within the past month on a scale of 1 to 4. The original DRS 11 items will be used for caregivers and 10 items will be used for care recipients. High scores indicate high levels of strain and positive interaction. We used the percentage change in dyadic relationship scores between the baseline and 3 months to examine how this intervention affected PWD/CG relationships.
Measured: Baseline and 3 Months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted23 Jan 2020
- Study start22 Apr 2020
- Primary completion4 Aug 2023
- Study completion4 Aug 2023
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
- Other trials for DementiaStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- control vs. intervention
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Investigator
- Enrolment
- 26 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Xi Chen
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor-investigator, Xi Chen, University of Iowa
- Investigators
- Xi Chen, DDS, PhD, Principal investigator, Associate Professor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04238520
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 201803835
- Other IDs
- R21NR017347
- Status last verified
- Apr 2025
- First submitted
- 10 Jan 2020
- Last updated
- 25 Apr 2025
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 25 Apr 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Functionally-tailored Oral Care Intervention for Community-dwelling Older Adults With Dementia and Their Caregivers
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04238520
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 201803835
- Conditions
- Dementia, Cognitive Impairment
- Keywords
- Dementia, Caregiver, Family Relations, Oral Hygiene, Cognitive Impairment, Functional Level, Oral Health Education
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 26 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Xi ChenUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
- Study start
- 22 Apr 2020 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 4 Aug 2023 (actual)
- Study completion
- 4 Aug 2023 (actual)
- First posted
- 23 Jan 2020 (actual)
- Results
- Posted 25 Apr 2025
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The specific aims of this study are:
Aim 1. Develop a staged and modifiable dyadic oral care intervention to provide functionally-tailored oral care rehabilitation for community-dwelling persons with dementia (PWD) and need-based skills training their family caregivers (CGs). Based on the literature review and MCWB, a 4-week intervention with 8 modules, including universal modules (e.g., environmental changes), CG modules (e.g., cuing strategies) and modules for both PWD and CGs (e.g., oral care techniques), will be developed addressing the relevant SCT constructs (e.g., functional deficits of PWD and caregiving needs of CGs). Guided by a validated, widely-used theory of rehabilitation medicine, modules will be used alone or in combination to provide personalized, hand-on, functionally-tailored oral care rehabilitation for PWD along with skills training for CGs to match their caregiving needs. The training focus shifts from the PWD to the CG, as the independence of the PWD decreases. Semi-structured interviews with family CGs will then be conducted (until data saturation is reached) to understand their oral care needs, desired intervention approaches, and the perceived feasibility and utility of the intervention. The intervention will be revised and then pilot tested with 4 dyads, one per each of the four functional levels of the DAT.
Aim 2. Evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the intervention in home settings through a randomized, controlled trial with 40 pairs of PWD and their primary CGs, including immediate post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. Dyads will be stratified into 4 functional levels based on the PWD's DAT score and then randomly assigned to the intervention or control (non-tailored usual care) group.
Detailed description
This study aims to develop and evaluate a functionally-tailored oral hygiene intervention to improve oral health for community-dwelling persons with dementia, while also reducing caregiver burden and improving the care partner relationship. The study consists of two phases. First, we will develop a modularized, functionally-tailorable oral care intervention based on caregiver qualitative interviews and existing literature. The second phase will then examine the efficacy and feasibility of the intervention through a randomized controlled trial (3 intervention: 1control ratio)with 40 Persons with Dementia/caregiver dyads. Control participants will receive the standard oral hygiene education currently provided to persons with Dementia during dental care. The Intervention group will receive 4-week, dyadic, hands-on, functionally-tailored oral care intervention. We will collect data at baseline, 4-weeks, and 3 months post intervention. After data collection, the differences in the control and intervention groups in regard to their oral hygiene, behavioral symptoms during oral care, caregiver outcomes (burden, self-efficacy) and care partner relationship will be explored.
The specific aims of this study are:
Aim 1. Develop a staged and modifiable dyadic oral care intervention to provide functionally-tailored oral care rehabilitation for community-dwelling persons with dementia (PWD) and need-based skills training their family caregivers (CGs). Based on the literature review and MCWB, a 4-week intervention with 8 modules, including universal modules (e.g., environmental changes), CG modules (e.g., cuing strategies) and modules for both PWD and CGs (e.g., oral care techniques), will be developed addressing the relevant SCT constructs (e.g., functional deficits of PWD and caregiving needs of CGs). Guided by a validated, widely-used theory of rehabilitation medicine, modules will be used alone or in combination to provide personalized, hand-on, functionally-tailored oral care rehabilitation for PWD along with skills training for CGs to match their caregiving needs. The training focus shifts from the PWD to the CG, as the independence of the PWD decreases. Semi-structured interviews with family CGs will then be conducted (until data saturation is reached) to understand their oral care needs, desired intervention approaches, and the perceived feasibility and utility of the intervention. The intervention will be revised and then pilot tested with 4 dyads, one per each of the four functional levels of the DAT.
Aim 2. Evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the intervention in home settings through a randomized, controlled trial with 40 pairs of PWD and their primary CGs, including immediate post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. Dyads will be stratified into 4 functional levels based on the PWD's DAT score and then randomly assigned to the intervention or control (non-tailored usual care) group.
Sub-Aim 2.1 Evaluate the feasibility of the intervention across four domains: acceptability, demand, implementation, and practicality. We will interview the dyads and review their daily oral care logs at both post-intervention and 3-month follow-up, assessing satisfaction with, acceptability of, and actual use of the intervention. Oral care trainers will complete intervention logs following each training session to document the extent of content delivery, diversion from the protocol, resources used, and perceptions about intervention success. Exit interviews with PWD (when possible), CGs, and trainers will be conducted to identify potential barriers, facilitators, and needed changes.
Sub-Aim 2.2 Examine the efficacy of the intervention. We hypothesize that both PWD oral hygiene and CG self-efficacy in providing oral care will show clinically significant improvements for the intervention group compared to the control group. Secondary outcomes for PWD (e.g., behavior symptoms during oral care), CGs (e.g., oral care related burden) and the dyadic relationship (e.g., the Dyadic Relationship Scale) will also be explored.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (investigator)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- control vs. intervention
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Control | Other | Behavioral: Control InterventionPWD/CG dyads |
| Interventional | Experimental | Behavioral: Functionally Tailored Oral Care InterventionPWD/CG dyads |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 100 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (10 listed)
- 18 years or older
- English-speaking
- Willing to participate in the study
- Diagnosis of Dementia
- Age 50 years or older or 18 years or older with Huntington's Disease
Key exclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Cognitively impaired
- Blind, deaf, or severely disabled
- Joint replacement with a history of prosthetic joint infection
- Requires immediate dental referrals
- Have oral cancer or active oral infection or 3) is actively dying.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Functionally Tailored Oral Care InterventionParticipants receive a 4-week, hands-on, functionally-tailored intervention. The intervention will address topics including tooth brushing, denture care, inter-dental care, tongue care, and dry mouth care. There will be four sessions in total, with each intervention session lasting approximately 45 minutes. | Behavioural | Interventional |
| Control InterventionParticipants will receive a home-based, un-tailored oral care training. The training includes a tooth brushing and dental care demonstration, and information about oral diseases and dry mouth. This training will be 15 minutes in duration. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in the functionally tailored intervention following the end of this study. | Behavioural | Control |
Primary outcome
Person With Dementia: Oral Hygiene
Time frame: Baseline and 3 Months
We used the Debris Index (DI) of the Oral Hygiene Index (a scale of 0 to 3, with lower values indicating no debris present and higher values indicating more soft debris on the tooth. Also called plaque score) to assess PWD's oral hygiene status. We used the percentage change in plaque scores between baseline and 3 months to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed intervention on improving PWD's oral hygiene.
Self-perceived Oral Care-giving Efficacy
Time frame: Baseline and 3 Months
Self-perceived Oral Care-giving Efficacy scale included 19 items to assess self-perceived efficacy in providing oral care to care recipients. We assessed CG's self-perceived oral care-giving efficacy at the baseline and 3-month follow-up visit. We used the percentage change in Self-perceived Oral Care-giving Efficacy scores between the baseline and 3-month follow-up to examine the effectiveness of the proposed intervention on improving CG's oral care-giving skills. Higher scores indicate a better improvement in self-perceived efficacy.
1 secondary outcome
Dyadic Relationship
Time frame: Baseline and 3 Months
Results and safety
Loading the posted results from ClinicalTrials.gov…
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 25 Apr 2025.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, baseline, all outcome measures and adverse events.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Xi Chen, DDS, PhD principal investigator
Associate Professor
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Functionally Tailored Oral Care Intervention in people with Dementia and Cognitive Impairment, run by Xi Chen at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 10 inclusion and 6 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 25 Apr 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 25 Apr 2025). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Person With Dementia: Oral Hygiene (time frame: Baseline and 3 Months). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 25 Apr 2025.