Randomized Controlled Trial of Postoperative Sensitivity with Warm and Room Temperature Composite

Area of Science:

• Dental Materials Science
• Clinical Dentistry
• Evidence-Based Dentistry

Background:

• Preheating composite resin improves physical properties but may increase postoperative sensitivity.
• No randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have evaluated postoperative sensitivity with preheated composite resin.
• Understanding the impact of preheating on patient comfort is crucial for clinical decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if preheating composite resin to 39°C affects postoperative sensitivity compared to room temperature composite.
• To investigate the incidence and severity of postoperative sensitivity in a randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Main Methods:

• A parallel RCT involving 120 adult patients comparing preheated (39°C) and room temperature composite restorations.
• Primary outcome: postoperative sensitivity at 24 hours using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), recorded by patients.
• Secondary outcomes: VAS scores over one month, analyzed with Mann-Whitney U test and repeated-measures ANOVA, controlling for confounders.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant difference in 24-hour postoperative sensitivity between preheated and room temperature composite groups (P = 0.162).
• Confounder analysis confirmed no significant difference between groups after controlling for tooth type and preoperative pulp testing (P = 0.317).
• Postoperative sensitivity decreased significantly over the first month (within-subject effect, P = 0.002), with no significant difference between groups over time (between-subject effect, P = 0.197).

Conclusions:

• Preheating dental composite resin to 39°C does not lead to a detectable increase in postoperative sensitivity.
• Clinicians can consider using preheated composite resin in routine practice, given its improved physical properties and lack of increased sensitivity.
• Postoperative sensitivity naturally decreases over the first month and is correlated with preoperative sensitivity.