Non-surgical dental care and oral hygiene to lower risk of infective endocarditis
Official title: Randomized Trial of non-Surgical Therapy and Oral Hygiene Instruction to Reduce Risk of Infective Endocarditis
Funded at Wake Forest University Health Sciences · NIH-11285146 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests whether professional dental cleanings plus clear home oral hygiene instruction can reduce the mouth bacteria that enter the bloodstream and may cause heart valve infections in people with certain heart conditions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Wake Forest University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Winston-Salem, United States) |
| Project start | February 14, 2023 |
| Project end | January 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,177,297 |
| NIH project number | 5UH3DE031250-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11285146 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with pre-existing heart valve disease or other conditions that put them at increased risk for infective endocarditis are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without heart valve disease or other IE risk factors, or those who already maintain excellent oral health, are unlikely to gain direct benefit from this trial.
What this research studies
You would be randomly assigned to receive non-surgical dental care (such as professional scaling) and tailored oral hygiene instruction or usual care, and dental plaque and gum health would be tracked over time. Researchers will take blood samples around routine activities like toothbrushing to count and identify bacteria that enter the bloodstream. The team will compare how often and how long bacteremia occurs between the groups and relate that to plaque and gum inflammation. The goal is to see whether better dental cleaning and home care lower the bloodstream bacteria linked to infective endocarditis.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could lower the chance that ordinary mouth bacteria enter the blood and seed heart valves, potentially preventing dangerous infective endocarditis in at-risk patients.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work shows toothbrushing and poor oral hygiene can cause bacteremia and that people with IE have more plaque, but there have been no prior randomized trials proving improved oral hygiene reduces bacteremia or IE risk.
Where this research is happening
-
Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Winston-Salem, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lockhart, Peter B — Wake Forest University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Lockhart, Peter B
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.