The frequency of cervical dentine hypersensitivity and possible etiological factors in an urban population: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background/Aim. Dentine hypersensitivity (DH) is a commonly encountered clinical problem characterized by short, sharp pain which arises from exposed dentine. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of cervical DH in adults in Pančevo, Serbia, evaluate the correlation between DH and severity of cervical tooth wear, and investigate the impact of certain etiological factors. Methods. The study included 394 subjects, who were clinically examined and interviewed about potential etiological factors using a specially designed questionnaire. The presence of cervical DH was evaluated using cold air stimulation and Schiff ordinal scale. The severity of cervical tooth wear was evaluated using the Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE). Results were analyzed using χ2 tests and logistic regression at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. Results. The presence of cervical DH was recorded in 32.9% of the total number of subjects. The χ2 analysis showed a significant association between clinically elicited and questionnaire-declared DH (p < 0.001), but not with the presence of noncarious cervical lesions and the extent of cervical tooth wear. Cervical DH showed a positive correlation with gender (p < 0.001), frequent consumption of citrus fruits (p < 0.001), and energy drinks (p = 0.005). Oral hygiene and other factors were not significantly associated. Conclusion. The prevalence of cervical DH in the investigated sample was relatively high. DH was more prevalent among females and significantly associated with frequent consumption of citrus fruits and energy drinks.

Keywords

• dentin sensitivity
• risk
• serbia
• surveys and questionnaire
• tooth cervix