A simple treatment of hypersensitive cervical dentine

Abstract

A VERY common dental pain is that experienced through hypersensitive cervical dentine, and here will he suggested a very simple and most effective treatment of such areas. A patient usually complains of one or more teeth which are sensitive to sweets, cold, touch, and salts, convinced that he has cavities in which these symptoms are arising. The pain is usually felt on imperfect cemento-enamel junctions which have become denuded of protective gingival tissue by passive or active tooth eruption. The incomplete junction of cementum and. enamel is either of a congenital, abrasive, erosive, traumatic, or carious origin and gives rise to a baring of the dentine which becomes hypersensitive. Hypersensitive dentine is also found in other than the cervical areas of teeth, and these most frequently require operative treatment. If this procedure is neither imperative, possible, nor desired, then the treatment to be offered here often will succeed in palliating the discomfort in these cases too. The pain these cervical areas may register varies in degree. In some instances, there is just enough discomfort to cause the patient to be conscious of an abnormality, and at the other extreme, the pain can be of the greatest severity. It is not unusual to find some sufferers who are rendered uncomfortable in mastication, drinking, toothbrushing, and even in the oral inhalation of cool air. The mere movement of the lip, cheek, or tongue on such an area can give rise to extreme pain. The pain varies in intensity, not only from patient to patient, but also in the same tooth in the same individual, with the degree of reaction depending on various factors, chief among these being the intensity of the stimulus. The pain induced is found to be greater in periods of mental stress, upper respiratory infections, and lowered resistance. Women are found to be more prone to increased dentinal sensitivity during menstruation, pregnancy, and the menopause. More inexplicable but yet certain is the exacerbation of this dental symptom with climatic changes, especially the onset of higher atmospheric humidity. Dentiml Conduction of Pain