Improvement of quality of life in subjects with dentin hypersensitivity

Objectives: Dentin hypersensitivity is a relatively common oral complaint experienced in clinical dental practice. The concept of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) which attempts to characterize patients' perception of oral health is of increasing interest in dentistry. The aim of the present field trial was to describe OHRQoL in subjects with hypersensitive teeth before and after home use of the elmex® SENSITIVE Care System, a prophylaxis product concept for patients with hypersensitive teeth. Methods: Data were collected from 713 patients from Germany (mean age: 42.6 ± 13.1 years) who participated in this field trial, presenting at 163 dental offices because of hypersensitive teeth. These subjects were asked to complete the German form of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-G) before and after 21 days of home use of the elmex® SENSITIVE Care System. The system includes elmex® SENSITIVE toothpaste, elmex® SENSITIVE dental rinse and the elmex® interX SENSITIVE short-head toothbrush. The patients were requested to use the system products for their oral hygiene twice a day, as recommended by the manufacturer. The sum of OHIP-G item responses (OHIP-G49, range 0-196) characterized OHRQoL. Statistical analysis was carried out using bivariable analysis and multiple linear regression analysis (software program STATA). Level of significance was set at 95%. Results: In 90% of patients a considerable improvement of OHRQoL could be observed. 50% of the subjects showed a change of 11 or more units. The average change was 13.5 OHIP-G units. The changes were statistically significant (p<0.001). Differences between gender and age were hardly present. Conclusions: A 21-day home use of elmex® SENSITIVE Care System improves OHRQoL in subjects with hypersensitive teeth. This study was supported by GABA Germany.