Comparison between effectiveness of a low-viscosity glass ionomer and a resin-based glutaraldehyde containing primer in treating dentine hypersensitivity--a 25.2-month evaluation

OBJECTIVES: The null-hypothesis tested was; there is no difference in effectiveness between a new low-viscosity glass ionomer and a resin-based glutaraldehyde containing primer in treating hypersensitive teeth after 2 years. METHODS: Using a split-mouth design, hypersensitive teeth in 14 adult patients were randomly assigned to 2 treatment groups. Hypersensitive tooth surfaces were covered with a low-viscosity glass ionomer (Fuji VII) and a resin-based glutaraldehyde containing primer (Gluma Desensitizer). The discomfort interval scale (DIS) ranging from 0 to 4 was used to test the level of hypersensitivity before and after treatment, and at 3 months using compressed air blown for 2 s, and at 1 and 25.2 months using a telephone interview. Differences between and within the treatment groups were tested using the sign rank test. RESULTS: Evaluations in the gluma group were discontinued after 3 months. The mean DIS score for hypersensitive teeth in the glass ionomer group was statistically significantly lower than that in the gluma group, immediately after application (p=0.0005), after 1 month (p=0.02) and after 3 months (p=0.003). After 3 months, 11/14 of the hypersensitive teeth in the glass ionomer group and 2/14 in the gluma group were free of sensitivity. The mean DIS score for hypersensitive teeth in the glass ionomer group remained low after 19.2 months (0.25: S.E.=0.13) and 25.2 months (0.22: S.E.=0.15). CONCLUSIONS: The null-hypothesis was rejected. The low-viscosity glass ionomer (Fuji VII) is more effective in treating hypersensitive teeth than Gluma Desensitizer after 3 months. The positive treatment effect of the glass ionomer continued until 25.2 months.