Wrigley Company Foundation and ADAF grant to fund new app to help Adelaide kids with cancer

Children receiving high dose chemotherapy treatment at the Women's & Children's Hospital in Adelaide will soon benefit from an app designed to track their oral health, provide daily oral hygiene instructions and monitor any acute oral complications associated with their cancer therapy. Funded by a USD$10,000 Community Service Grant from Wrigley Company Foundation and the Australian Dental Association Foundation (ADAF), Associate Professor Sam Gue (pictured right) said the app has the potential to significantly improve quality of life for paediatric chemotherapy inpatients and outpatients at the Women's and Children's Hospital.

"There is a long list of serious and often painful oral health conditions that can affect children receiving high dose chemotherapy treatment," said A/Prof. Gue, Head of Department and Consultant for the Paediatric Dental Department at the Women's and Children's Hospital in North Adelaide.

"The app allows improved monitoring of the oncology inpatients and outpatients who are at increased risk of oral health issues - from painful inflammation to ulceration and bleeding. It is also planned that further developments of the app will provide an ability to improve the clinical management of these acute oral complications associated with cancer therapy," A/Prof. Gue said.

The app will help educate patients and their families to self-assess and be more aware of oral issues during the at-risk days following chemotherapy cycles. Should the patient report painful symptoms, the app will alert the hospital dental department, directing specialist dental registrars to contact the family and offer advice or outpatient consultation as appropriate.

A/Prof. Gue and his research team envisage the app will offer an additional level of personalised care and support for inpatients and outpatients, while helping to prevent health complications before they affect quality of life.

Often there is a lot of information for families to take in during chemotherapy treatment; the app, in addition to monitoring acute oral complications associated with cancer therapy, will also include daily oral hygiene instructions to act as a reference and remind patients and their families of the important oral care steps.

At its initial launch, the app will educate and monitor the oral health of approximately 70 children aged 0-18 undergoing oncology therapy at the Women's and Children's Hospital in North Adelaide but has the potential to be rolled out in other centres in the future. On a larger scale, the information collected by the app will build a picture of inpatient and outpatient oral health and oral complications in a longitudinal ongoing study, which has not previously been surveyed.

"There is still much to be learnt about the oral complications of oncology therapy in the paediatric population and we're extremely grateful to have the support of the Wrigley Company Foundation and Australian Dental Association Foundation for our mission," said A/Prof. Gue.

The ADAF and Wrigley Company Foundation Community Service Grants

The Community Service Grants initiative provides much needed funding to volunteer dentists, dentistry students and teams of dental professionals to help improve the oral health of some of Australia's most disadvantaged communities including Indigenous communities, homeless, special needs disability, low income and elderly. The grants provide funding to cover the purchase of supplies and other expenses to either develop or expand existing community service programs.

Through the 2014 grants program, a total of US$82,000 will be awarded to 13 grant programs across Australia. Since its introduction in collaboration with ADA Inc. in 2011, the program has already awarded USD$259,000 in funds to grant recipients in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Andrew Leakey, General Manager, Wrigley Pacific, said: "The grants and their hard working volunteers, help bridge the gap in access to oral care services and dental education throughout Australia. Wrigley is committed to improving the state of dental health in Australia and around the globe. The Wrigley Oral Healthcare Program operates in 47 countries worldwide and initiatives such as the Wrigley Company Foundation ADAF Community Service Grants are dedicated to supporting dental students and professionals".

"The ADAF congratulates this year's successful grantees. Volunteer groups of dentists and other dental professionals who provide Australia's most deprived communities with free oral health treatments and education need to be applauded. It's these volunteer initiatives that are helping, first-hand, to curb the growing rate of dental decay and disease," said David Owen, Chairman Advisory Board, Australian Dental Association Foundation.