Related Experiment Videos
Dentifrice formulations for the treatment of dentin hypersensitivity: A systematic review and network meta-analysis
A J Gormley1,2, T Walsh3, J Twigg4
1Bristol Dental School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Objectives:
To update the evidence on the comparative effectiveness of self-applied dentifrices for the treatment of dentin hypersensitivity (DH) using systematic review and network meta-analysis methodology.
Materials And Methods:
Randomized controlled trials evaluating self-applied dentifrices in adults with a diagnosis of DH were identified through literature searching of OvidSP versions of Medline, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library from November 2022-July 2025, supplemented by records obtained in a previous review and manual citation searching. Outcomes were assessed using validated measures including evaporative cold, tactile and thermal cold stimuli. Random-effects frequentist network meta-analyses were conducted for outcomes measured at 2 weeks. Risk of bias was assessed using the RoB 2 and certainty of evidence evaluated using the CINeMA framework.
Results:
Ninety-three studies (9548 participants) were included, with 47 studies (4636 participants) contributing to the network meta-analyses. In consolidating findings across different outcome measurements we found stannous fluoride and arginine-based dentifrices consistently demonstrated the most clinically meaningful reductions in DH symptoms compared with a benchmark fluoride dentifrice across evaporative cold (Stannous Schiff MD -0.85 (95% CI -1.08; -0.62), high confidence rating; Arginine MD -0.78 (95% CI -1.02, -0.54), low confidence rating) and tactile (Stannous Yeaple MD 14.87 (95% CI 10.24, 19.50), moderate confidence rating; Arginine MD 9.78 (95% CI 4.69, 14.86), low confidence rating) outcomes. High-certainty evidence supported stannous fluoride for evaporative cold outcomes, while arginine demonstrated comparable effect sizes with lower certainty. Other formulations showed small to moderate effects with generally low certainty when compared with a benchmark fluoride dentifrice at 2 weeks.
Conclusions:
Stannous fluoride and arginine dentifrices should be considered first-line self-care options for DH.
Clinical Relevance:
Clinicians can recommend the use of stannous fluoride or arginine dentifrices as first-line treatment for DH, with choice guided by patient preference, tolerability and availability rather than expectation of superior efficacy.
