Evaluation of the Efficacy of Fluoride Therapies on Hypersensitive Carious Lesions in Primary Teeth

A single trained investigator will screen for possible study participants of children aged 2-5 years old, and their parents will be asked to participate in the study. The participants will be consecutively recruited from regular clinic attendees of the Department of Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Greifswald, from whom present with active carious lesions (ICDAS 5) along symptoms of hypersensitivity to be treated with fluoride varnish, and further compared to participants treated with silver fluoride and potassium iodide application.

Eligibility to the study will be determined by a single trained examiner through clinical findings of caries activity according to Bjørndal criteria, and reported history of hypersensitivity symptoms obtained from the parent/caregiver of the participant, followed by hypersensitivity confirmatory test using a triple syringe air blast on the exposed surface of the carious lesion to allocate areas with suspected dentin hypersensitivity.

After clinical examination and obtainment of an informed consent, eligible children will be treated with fluoride varnish application (Duraphat®), or silver fluoride and potassium iodide application (Riva Star®) according to manufacturer's instructions.The participant's behavior shall be evaluated at the beginning, during and after treatment. Plaque Index (API) and Papillary Bleeding Index (PBI) will also be assessed prior to treatment and at the 3-months mark. Procedures will be performed by six different dentists (four pediatric specialists and two post-graduate pediatric dentistry students), all of whom were briefed on the study protocol and received instructions in carrying in the interventions according to the manufacturer's guide, and their technical opinions regarding the performed procedures will be obtained following the procedure. Follow up examinations after 3 months will be done by a single examiner. Only one tooth per child will be included in the analysis.

Data and information of this study will be recorded, handled, and stored in an organized and secure way, to allow its accurate reporting, interpretation, and verification. To assure confidentiality of clinical records, an unambiguous subject identification code will be used. Patients who are no longer willing to continue in the study will have the right to quit at any time without any penalty.

All variables will be statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics, plots, and tests of normality. Means and standard deviations (SD) will be calculated for all quantitative variables, while frequencies and percentages will be calculated for categorical variables.