Prevalence of Dentin Hypersensitivity Among Dental Students and Effectiveness of Tooth Desensitizing Agents

Dentin hypersensitivity (DH) is a growing concern in Dentistry. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and effectiveness of different desensitizing agents of (DH) among undergraduate dental students.

This cross-sectional clinical study was conducted with 161 undergraduate dental students. A self-reporting questionnaire along with a clinical examination was performed to diagnose DH and determine the severity. The effectiveness of home-based and in-office desensitizers was evaluated by comparing the combined DH scale in the pre- and post-treatment periods. The data were analyzed for frequency, correlation, and T-test.

The prevalence of DH in the tested population was 19.3%, predominantly in females. The Chi-Square test showed significance in gender and oral hygiene practice by the participants (p<0.05). However, none of the tested factors strongly correlated with DH in this population. The post-treatment combined DH scale (5.48±3.1) was statistically significant (p=0.0001) compared to the pretreatment scale (11.29±3.5). The effectiveness of SRA was 87%, and the remaining 13% of DH recovered using GLUMA.

The prevalence of DH was 19.3% without any strongly correlated etiology. Home-based and in-office desensitizers were effective in reducing DH in the tested population.