Prevalence of self-reported versus diagnosed dentinal hypersensitivity: a cross-sectional study and ROC curve analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify and compare the self-reported and diagnosed prevalence of dentinal hypersensitivity (DH) in an University population; and to verify accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of DH stimuli tests. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three hundred and eighty patients (67.2% women and 32.8% men) were assessed by questionnaire, clinical exam, tactile and cold water tests. The intensity of DH was assessed using a visual analogue scale, and a calibrated examiner measured the scores using a caliper. The ICC for intra-examiner was 0.990. Scores above 5 mm were considered sensitive teeth. The association between variables was assessed by Chi-square test. ROC curve analysis determined accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the tests (p < .05). RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 24.08 years. 158 (41.7%) volunteers self-reported the presence of DH, while, 88.7% of the participants were clinically diagnosed (p = .023). In total, 8958 teeth were evaluated, of those 3367 (37.6%) were diagnosed sensitive. The most prevalent teeth with DH were incisors and premolars. The accuracy of the tests with cold water and tactile were 99%. The sensitivity and specificity for cold water and tactile tests were 99.9%, 99.7%, 99.1% and 87.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The self-reported prevalence of DH was significantly lower than that clinically diagnosed. The cold test proved to be a highly accurate stimulus for the diagnosis of DH.

Associated factors to cervical dentin hypersensitivity in adults: a transversal study.

BACKGROUND: This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the factors associated to the cervical dentin hypersensitivity (DH) in Brazilian adult population. METHODS: Three hundred and eighty patients (67.2% women and 32.8% men) were assessed by questionnaire and thermal test with ice. Participants marked in a visual analogue scale (VAS) the intensity of pain, and a calibrated examiner (ICC 0.990) measured the scores using a caliper. Pain scores above 0.5 mm were considered sensitive teeth. The DH associated factors were investigated by clinical examination. The association between variables was assessed by Spearman correlation and the Chi-square test. Logistic regression was used to determine the variables that predict DH (p < 0.05). RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 24.08 years. In this population, 8958 teeth were evaluated, of those 3037 (33.9%) were diagnosed sensitive. The most prevalent associated factors to DH were abnormal tooth positioning (9.0%), occlusal trauma (6.5%) and gingival recession (5.6%). The erosion predicted significantly the DH on both simple (OR 7.85, p < 0.001) and multiple(OR 4.36, p < 0.001) analysis. CONCLUSION: The exposure of dentinal tubules by erosion is probably the major predictor of dentin hypersensitivity. The healthy tooth is able to protect against DH.