Immediate post-application effect of professional prophylaxis with 8% arginine-calcium carbonate desensitizing paste...

This practitioner-based clinical trial compared the pain reduction achieved by professional prophylaxis with 8% arginine calcium carbonate (CaCO3) desensitizing paste versus 5% potassium nitrate (KNO3) toothpaste on adult patients with tooth hypersensitivity.

All dentists in Hong Kong were invited to join the study. Each participating dentist identified six adult patients with hypersensitive teeth after scaling in the clinic. For each patient, the most hypersensitive tooth was selected. Each hypersensitive tooth was isolated and tested with a blast of compressed cold air delivered from a three-in-one syringe. The patient was then asked to indicate a sensitivity score (SS) from 0 to 10. Three patients received professional prophylaxis with 8% arginine CaCO3 desensitizing paste (Group 1), and the other three received prophylaxis with desensitizing toothpaste containing 5% KNO3 and 1,450 ppm fluoride (Group 2). The teeth were tested for a second time with compressed cold air, and the patients were asked to report the SS again. A non-parametric test was used to analyze the results following a normality test of the SS.

A total of 303 patients were recruited by 65 participating dentists. The mean age of the patients was 40.1, and 59% were female. The median pre-treatment SS of Groups 1 and 2 were both 7, whereas the post-treatment SS were 3 and 4, respectively (P < 0.001). The median percentage reductions in sensitivity scores of Groups 1 and 2 were 57.14% and 38.75%, respectively (P < 0.001).