Department of Oral Health Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, 1959 N.E. Pacific St., Seattle, Wash. 98195-7475, USA.
J Am Dent Assoc. 2013 Mar;144(3):288-96. doi: 10.14219/jada.archive.2013.0116.
The prevalence of dentin hypersensitivity is uncertain, yet appropriate diagnosis and treatment of dentin hypersensitivity require accurate knowledge regarding its prevalence. The authors conducted a study to estimate the prevalence of dentin hypersensitivity in general dental practices and to investigate associated risk factors.
The authors conducted a cross-sectional survey of 787 adult patients from 37 general dental practices within Northwest Practice-based Research Collaborative in Evidence-based DENTistry (PRECEDENT). Dentin hypersensitivity was diagnosed by means of participants' responses to a question regarding pain in their teeth and gingivae, and practitioner-investigators conducted a clinical examination to rule out alternative causes of pain. Participants recorded their pain level on a visual analog scale and the Seattle Scales in response to a one-second air blast. The authors used generalized estimating equation log-linear models to estimate the prevalence and the prevalence ratios.
The prevalence of dentin hypersensitivity was 12.3 percent; patients with hypersensitivity had, on average, 3.5 hypersensitive teeth. The prevalence of dentin hypersensitivity was higher among 18- to 44-year olds than among participants 65 years or older; it also was higher in women than in men, in participants with gingival recession than in those without gingival recession and in participants who underwent at-home tooth whitening than in those who did not. Hypersensitivity was not associated with obvious occlusal trauma, noncarious cervical lesions or aggressive toothbrushing habits.
One in eight participants from general practices had dentin hypersensitivity, which was a chronic condition causing intermittent, low-level pain. Patients with hypersensitivity were more likely to be younger, to be female and to have a high prevalence of gingival recession and at-home tooth whitening.
Given dentin hypersensitivity's prevalence, clinicians should diagnose it only after investigating all other possible sources of pain.
牙本质过敏的流行情况尚不确定，但要对牙本质过敏进行适当的诊断和治疗，就必须准确了解其流行情况。作者开展了一项研究，旨在评估一般牙科实践中牙本质过敏的流行情况，并调查相关的危险因素。
作者对来自西北基于实践的研究合作组织中循证牙科（PRECEDENT）的 37 家普通牙科实践中的 787 名成年患者进行了横断面调查。通过患者对牙齿和牙龈疼痛的回答来诊断牙本质过敏，由从业者调查员进行临床检查以排除其他疼痛原因。参与者使用视觉模拟量表和西雅图量表记录他们对一秒空气喷流的疼痛程度。作者使用广义估计方程对数线性模型来估计流行率和流行率比。
牙本质过敏的流行率为 12.3%；有过敏症的患者平均有 3.5 颗敏感牙齿。18 至 44 岁的患者牙本质过敏的流行率高于 65 岁或以上的患者；女性的流行率高于男性，有牙龈退缩的患者高于没有牙龈退缩的患者，在家中进行牙齿美白的患者高于没有进行牙齿美白的患者。过敏症与明显的咬合创伤、非龋性颈病变或激进的刷牙习惯无关。
一般实践中有八分之一的参与者患有牙本质过敏症，这是一种引起间歇性低水平疼痛的慢性疾病。有过敏症的患者更年轻、更女性化、牙龈退缩和在家中进行牙齿美白的患病率更高。
鉴于牙本质过敏的流行率，临床医生只有在调查了所有其他可能的疼痛来源后，才能诊断出牙本质过敏。
