The Children's Amalgam Trial

April 27, 2010 updated by: HealthCore-NERI

Health Effects of Dental Amalgams in Children

The Children's Amalgam Trial is one of only two randomized trials of its kind, and the only such trial in the United States, to address the potential impact of mercury exposure from amalgam restorations on neuropsychological and renal function in children.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The safety of silver amalgam as a dental restorative material has been controversial since its introduction 150 years ago, but until recently it has been assumed that the exposure to mercury from dental amalgam is limited to the acute placement phase. However, some recent studies have raised safety concerns by demonstrating chronic release of mercury vapor from amalgam fillings during chewing and brushing. The Children's Amalgam Trial (CAT) is a two-arm randomized trial of safety, comparing amalgam with a mercury-free restorative material. A single masking procedure is used to ensure that all investigators and staff measuring outcomes are unaware of assigned trial arm. The study follows 534 New England children, aged 6-10 years at enrollment, for 5 years. The children were recruited from two northeastern U.S. communities, one in rural Maine, and one in urban Massachusetts. No trial subjects received prior amalgam restorations, and all were in need of at least two posterior occlusal fillings. Participants were randomized to receive either amalgam or composite material for all posterior restorations at baseline and at subsequent visits. The primary endpoint will be 5-year change in IQ scores. Secondary endpoints will include measures of other neuropsychological assessments and renal functioning.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

534

Phase

  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Watertown, Massachusetts, United States, 02472
        • New England Research Institute

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

6 years to 10 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

  • 6 - 10 years of age at last birthday
  • Fluent in English
  • No prior or existing amalgam restorations
  • Two or more posterior teeth with dental caries such that restoration would include the occlusal surfaces
  • No clinical evidence of existing psychological, behavioral, neurologic, immunosuppressive, or renal disorders.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: Single

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
IQ as measured by the WISC III Test

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

HealthCore-NERI

Collaborators

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sonja M McKinlay, New England Research Institutes, Inc

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

September 1, 1997

Study Completion

March 1, 2005

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 1, 2003

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 4, 2003

First Posted (Estimate)

August 5, 2003

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

April 28, 2010

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 27, 2010

Last Verified

August 1, 2005

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • NIDCR-11886
  • U01DE011886 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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