Clinical evaluation on the efficacy of a newly developed air polishing powder in reducing dentin hypersensitivity

Objectives: To compare the clinical efficacy of a new air polishing powder with glycine and 6 % tri-calcium phosphate in reducing dentin hypersensitivity (test) to a polishing powder with glycine alone (Clinpro Prophy powder) as negative control.
Methods: Prior to the study the clinical protocol was reviewed and accepted by the ethics committee of the medical faculty of Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich. In a split-mouth-design the two powders were applied during a professional tooth cleaning on two non-adjacent teeth located in different sextants. Both teeth had a baseline air blast dentin hypersensitivity score of ≥ 4 on the numeral rating scale (NRS). Subjects were assessed using air blast stimulus with the NRS at baseline, after air polishing, after 10 days and after 4 weeks, 3 and 6 months.
Results: A total of 38 out of 41 subjects completed the study. At baseline no significant differences in air blast score between test and negative control groups were evident. In the test group the air blast score of dentin hypersensitivity decreased significantly (P < 0.05) after tooth cleaning compared to the control group (27 % vs. 14 %). 73 % of the teeth treated with test powder and 44 % of the teeth treated with control powder showed reduced air blast hypersensitivity (P < 0.05). At 10 days, 4 weeks, 3 and 6 months the dentin hypersensitivity was still decreased (test: 22 %, 28 %, 35 %, 31 %; control: 13 %, 20 %, 29 %, 23 %) but the differences were no longer significant between test and control.
Conclusions: The air polishing powder with glycine and tri-calcium phosphate provided significant reductions in hypersensitivity compared to baseline after a single application. Therefore air polishing with glycine and tri-calcium phosphate is suitable for professional tooth cleaning also for patients with dentin hypersensitivity. The tooth cleaning procedure revealed no adverse events.