Innovative Treatments for Allergic Rhinitis & Other Nasal Disorders
NewYork-Presbyterian’s ENT surgeons care for all types of sinus and nasal disorders, from the most common to the most complex. Our teams offer the full range of care for patients with:
- Chronic nasal obstruction (somnoplasty was pioneered at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia)
- Epistaxis (specializing in endovascular embolization and transnasal vascular ligation)
- Refractory rhinosinusitis
- Nasal polyps
- Disorders of taste and smell
NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell physicians developed and patented an oral mucosal immunotherapy (OMIT) delivered via a toothpaste for patients with allergic rhinitis in whom injections or sublingual immunotherapies (SLIT) are ineffective, inconvenient, or intolerable — especially children. Marketed as Allerdent®, the treatment offers a number of benefits compared with SLIT, which needs to be held under the tongue for two minutes and can be challenging to dose correctly. OMIT exposes all immune tissues in the mouth to the therapy, including the vestibule and gums, as the patient brushes with the paste for two minutes twice daily.
Studies show that oral mucosal immunotherapy is as effective, safe, and convenient as sublingual immunotherapy for treating allergic rhinitis.
Effective and convenient. Studies have shown that OMIT is as effective, safe, and convenient as SLIT for use by patients with allergic rhinitis. The convenience of home administration was ranked highly as an important factor by study participants.
Customized and compounded. In the office, the physician mixes the allergenic protein extracts a patient needs and then sends them to a specialty pharmacy for compounding into a special toothpaste, which comes fluoridated and unfluoridated and in a variety of flavors and is delivered through a metered pump.
Additional patient benefits. In addition to more accurate dosing of the therapy, OMIT also promotes good dental hygiene.
Selected Publications
- Patient preferences for route of allergy immunotherapy: A comparison of four delivery methods. International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology. 2016;6:454-59.
- Oral mucosal immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis: A pilot study. Allergy & Rhinology. 2016;7(1):21-28.