Clinical effectiveness of two agents on the treatment of tooth cervical hypersensitivity

To investigate the desensitizing ability of a one-bottle bonding agent and a glutaraldehyde-based HEMA formulation on sensitive tooth cervical areas for a period up to 9 months.

The sample consisted of 40 patients with cervical hypersensitivity. Three sensitive teeth per patient were treated; one received One-Step (one-bottle bonding agent), the other Gluma Desensitizer (glutaraldehyde-based agent) and the third distilled water (control group). The hypersensitivity level was determined before, immediately after the desensitizing session, at 8 weeks, and 9 months post-treatment. Measurements of sensitivity were determined by the patient's response to tactile and air-blast stimuli. A verbal rating scale was used and scored as follows: 0, no discomfort; 1, discomfort but no severe pain; 2, severe pain during simulation; 3, severe pain after simulation. The results were subjected to statistical analysis by Kruskal-Wallis test (a=0.05).

Both treatment procedures resulted in reduction of hypersensitivity to both stimuli, for up to 9 months. No significant differences were recorded between One-Step and Gluma Desensitizer at immediate and 8-week examinations, whereas Gluma Desensitizer produced lower hypersensitivity than One-Step at the 9-month assessment. In general, a lower level of reduction was found for the 9-month interval compared to the 8-week hypersensitivity score for both agents tested. A placebo effect was observed with water treatment, ranging from 4.7 to 27.5% reduction of hypersensitivity.