Recent advances in the study of therapeutic materials and techniques for dentin hypersensitivity

Dentin hypersensitivity is a common clinical symptom with an unclear pathogenesis, and there is currently a lack of long-term effective treatments. In recent years, various biomaterials and therapeutic methods have been employed in the treatment of dentin hypersensitivity. The purpose of this review is to investigate the pathogenesis of dentin hypersensitivity, the mechanisms of action of different treatment methods, and their similarities and differences, and to propose suggestions for existing issues and future directions.

This article used Web of Science and PubMed as sources of eligible literature. From January 2010 to May 2024, extensive electronic searches were conducted in both databases, supplemented by manual searches.

A total of 1432 articles were identified. After excluding articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria, 126 articles were ultimately included in this review.

The consensus on the pathogenesis of dentin hypersensitivity is that exposed dentin allows external stimuli to be transmitted to the pulp nerve via dentin tubules, thereby causing pain. Based on their mechanisms of action, current treatments can be categorized into blocking pulpal nerve, physically occluding dentin tubules, biomimetic remineralization to occlude dentin tubules, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. In future research, increasing the depth of DT occlusion, enhancing the strength of the occlusion materials, and endowing the occlusion materials with antibacterial properties should be given priority.