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 arising from exposed dentine. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of cervical DH in an adult population sample of city of Pancevo, Serbia, to evaluate correlation between DH and severity of cervical tooth wear, as well as to investigate the impact of certain etiological factors. Methods. The study included 394 subjects, who were clinically examined and interviewed about potential etiological factors using specially designed questionnaire. Presence of cervical DH was evaluated using cold air stimulation and Schiff ordinal scale. Severity of cervical tooth wear was evaluated using Basic Erosive Wear Examination-BEWE. Results were analyzed using chi-square tests and logistic regression at significance level of p?0.05. Results. The presence of cervical DH was recorded in 32.9% from total number of subjects. Chi-square analysis showed significant association between clinically elicited and questionnaire declared DH (p<0.001), but not with the presence of non-carious cervical lesions and the extent of cervical tooth wear. Cervical DH showed 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.