Vol 21 No. 1

J Bagh College Dentistry Vol. 21(1), 2009 Prevalence of dentine….
Prevalence of dentine hypersensitivity in different age
groups
Abdul-Karim A. A. Al- Muhammadawi , B.D.S, M. Sc. (1)
ABSTRACT
Background: Hypersensitivity of teeth is a common condition. It indicates that enamel or cementum is not present on
teeth cervical area and that dentine is exposed, therefore; it will be sensitive to stimuli like tactile, thermal, .etc.
Materials & Methods: Hypersensitivity was recorded as present or absent on probing the surfaces of teeth in 500 subjects
attending Oral diagnosis clinic, College of Dentistry, University of Baghdad. The subjects were examined for Tooth / root
exposure, Oral hygiene status, and cervical abrasions.
Results: Seventy five patients of 500 (15%) showed hypersensitive teeth and a total of 330 teeth were found to be
sensitive. Hypersensitivity was observed in 16 years of age and more, with highest incidence between 26-35 years. The
intraoral distribution showed that half hypersensitive teeth are the upper and lower premolars. The lower molars were the
less affected teeth.
Conclusion: The most affected intraoral areas on the vestibular surfaces of teeth, most frequently affected teeth are 1 st
premolars. Correlation with other factors like root exposure and cervical abrasion suggests the occurrence of
hypersensitive teeth and to be enhanced by improper oral hygiene habits.
Key words: Dentine hypersensitivity, hypersensitive teeth, abrasion (J Bagh Coll Dentistry 2009; 21(1): 80-83)
INTRODUCTION
Hypersensitivity of teeth is a common condition
with an estimated prevalence of 15-30 % ( 1-3) . It
indicates that enamel or cementum is not present on
teeth cervical area and that dentine is exposed,
therefore; it will be sensitive to stimuli like tactile,
thermal, .etc. (4, 5) . Hirsefeld carried out a clinical
study on tooth brush trauma which discussed the
connection of tooth brush to lesions of gingival
margin, recession, cervical abrasion and
hypersensitivity (6) .
Graf and Galasse stated that 51 patients of 351
(14.5%) showed hypersensitive teeth and he
suggests that incorrect tooth brushing factors
enhance the occurrence of hypersensitive teeth (7) .
Another study done by Addy had shown that
gingival recession which is due to faulty tooth
brushing and presence of plaque are factors in the
etiology of hypersensitive teeth, however his results
showed that brushing is relevant with distribution of
hypersensitive teeth but plaque is not a factor in
pain initiation. He showed also that sensitivity
scores were greater in upper canines and premolars
with an increase in mean findings for left compared
with right contra- lateral teeth (8) .
Moreover, Wichgers and Emert showed nearly
20% of adults have dentine hypersensitive and
problem become even more common as people
retain their teeth longer and more dental surfaces
exposed (9, 10) .
(1) Assistant lecturer, Department of Periodontics, College of
Dentistry, University of Baghdad
A positive relationship between root exposure
and cervical abrasion was founded and the exposed
roots in middle age group showed more abrasion
areas and were more frequently in patients with
better oral hygiene (11-13) .
No epidemiological data could be found in the
literatures about the prevalence and intraoral
distribution of hypersensitive teeth in Iraqi people.
The purpose of the study was to fill this gap of
knowledge and find correlation with factors that
may be associated with hypersensitivity.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Hypersensitivity was recorded as present or
absent on probing the surfaces of teeth in 500
subjects attending Oral diagnosis clinic, College of
Dentistry, University of Baghdad. The subjects
were examined for:
1- Tooth and/ or root exposure as to be more
than 1mm according to Kitchen (14) .
2- Oral hygiene status assessed according to
Sangners and Gjermo (15) .
3- Cervical abrasions were recorded according
to Bergestrom and Laustedt (1) .
The distribution of subjects and number of teeth
present are shown in Table 1 according to age and
gender.
RESULTS
Prevalence and distribution of hypersensitive
teeth in subjects according to age and gender is
shown in table 2. A total of 75 persons (15%)
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Periodontology 80