Efficacy of strontium chloride in dental hypersensitivity.

Controlled stimuli were used to evaluate a commercially available dentifrice containing 10% strontium chloride hexahydrate for efficacy in alleviating the symptoms of uncomplicated dentinal hypersensitivity. Sixty-one subjects with hypersensitivity were included in the 12-week, double-blind, parallel, comparative (placebo) study. Levels of hypersensitivity in affected teeth were assessed by three methods: thermally controlled cold air stimulus, tactile stimulus with an electronic pressure sensitive probe, and subjective response. The results from all three methods of assessment indicated that the strontium chloride dentifrice, in comparison with a placebo, reduced dentinal hypersensitivity to a significantly greater degree. This therapeutic response to the active agent was apparent within 2 weeks and increased continuously thereafter for the length of the study. One can conclude that the regular at-home use of a dentifrice containing 10% strontium chloride hexahydrate is an effective means for reducing the discomfort and pain engendered by thermal and tactile stimuli in patients with dentinal hypersensitivity.