Dentine Hypersensitivity Treatment Using Strontium-doped Bioactive Glass-ceramic-filled Dentine Adhesive: a Randomized Double-blind Controlled Clinical Trial

Subjects aged 18-69 years who have experienced cervical dentine hypersensitivity for 1 month or more will be identified and recruited from those attending routine check-ups at a university teaching hospital, the Prince Philip Dental Hospital. Those who have poor dental conditions, such as severe periodontal conditions, or the sensitive tooth has undergone restorative treatment, or any other condition that potentially threatens the validity of the outcomes, will be excluded.

Each participant will undergo a baseline clinical examination to explore their level of oral hygiene, presence of dental caries and restorations, and their periodontal conditions. The participants will be asked to indicate the sensitive tooth/teeth, which will then be isolated and tested with a continuous air blast for 5 seconds using a 3-in-1 syringe. They will rate the degree of pain of the tooth under assessment using a Sensitivity Score that ranges from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no discomfort and 10 indicates maximal pain causing significant distress.

Randomization will be conducted at the subject level in a 1:1 ratio. Subjects who have at least one hypersensitive tooth with an SS score of 8 or above will be randomly allocated to one of the two study groups.

Socio-demographic information regarding age and gender; education level; type of housing resided; number and types of medications; health/medical conditions; dietary habits; tobacco use; oral hygiene habits including toothbrushing habits; and dental visit behaviour will be recorded.

After the baseline clinical examination, participants in the intervention group will receive a single application of a bioactive glass ceramic-filled universal dentine adhesive, whereas those in the control group will receive a single application of the same universal dentine adhesive without bioactive glass ceramic. The study participants will be followed for 6 months. Assessment for dentine hypersensitivity will be conducted immediately after the intervention, at the 1-month, 3-month and 6-month follow-up visits using the same equipment and diagnostic criteria by the same examiner.