A method to measure pain associated with hypersensitive dentin

Pain associated with dental hypersensitivity has been difficult to assess. An electronic threshold measure was developed to increase the degree of objectivity in a subject's response to a cold thermal stimulus. The apparatus consisted of a miniature thermistor connected to a medical multichannel recorder with a hand-held event recorder. The thermistor was placed adjacent to the hypersensitive area for an accurate temperature measure of the point at which the subject first reported pain. Room temperature air was gently blown on the hypersensitive area, dropping the surface temperature evenly from intraoral temperature to room temperature. Results indicated that this method of assessment provided consistent and reproducible data. The apparatus can detect changes in sensitivity and offers an objective approach to sensitivity studies.