Clinical assessment on application of Er:Cr:YSGG laser in dentinal hypersensitivity reduction

Copyright © 2013 by Journal of Korean Academy of Oral Health This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Er:Cr:YSGG laser therapy on the reduction of dentinal hypersensitivity while taking into account the length and depth of the cervical abrasion. Methods: We included adults (age, 20-60 years) with at least 2 hypersensitive teeth. The hypersensitive teeth were stimulated with a pressure-indicating probe and an air syringe. The response of the subjects to this stimulation was quantified using a visual analog scale (VAS) and Schiff air sensitivity score. The patients were treated at baseline, immediately after laser treatment, and at 1, 2, and 4 weeks after the Er:Cr:YSGG laser therapy. The results were analyzed by repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Bonferroni’s post hoc test. Results: The values of tactile test and air blast test showed statistically significant differences between the following time points: baseline and immediately after laser treatment, baseline and first week after treatment, and immediately after laser treatment and first week after treatment (P<0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed in the VAS values of the tactile test and Schiff air sensitivity score of the air blast test between the first and second, first and fourth, and second and fourth weeks after treatment (P>0.05). The depth and width of the cervical abrasion was not statistically significant in dentinal hypersensitivity reduction (P>0.05). Conclusions: The use of Er:Cr:YSGG laser therapy reduced dentinal hypersensitivity, especially immediately after laser treatment. The depth and width of the cervical abrasion is not statistically significant in dentinal hypersensitivity reduction.