Comparison between effectiveness of a low-viscosity glass ionomer and a resin-based glutaraldehyde containing primer in treating dentine hypersensitivity—a 25.2-month evaluation

Objectives The null-hypothesis tested was; there is no difference in effectiveness between a new low-viscosity glass ionomer and a resin-based glutaraldehyde containing primer in treating hypersensitive teeth after 2 years. Methods Using a split-mouth design, hypersensitive teeth in 14 adult patients were randomly assigned to 2 treatment groups. Hypersensitive tooth surfaces were covered with a low-viscosity glass ionomer (Fuji VII®) and a resin-based glutaraldehyde containing primer (Gluma® Desensitizer). The discomfort interval scale (DIS) ranging from 0 to 4 was used to test the level of hypersensitivity before and after treatment, and at 3 months using compressed air blown for 2 s, and at 1 and 25.2 months using a telephone interview. Differences between and within the treatment groups were tested using the sign rank test. Results Evaluations in the gluma group were discontinued after 3 months. The mean DIS score for hypersensitive teeth in the glass ionomer group was statistically significantly lower than that in the gluma group, immediately after application (p = 0.0005), after 1 month (p = 0.02) and after 3 months (p = 0.003). After 3 months, 11/14 of the hypersensitive teeth in the glass ionomer group and 2/14 in the gluma group were free of sensitivity. The mean DIS score for hypersensitive teeth in the glass ionomer group remained low after 19.2 months (0.25: S.E. = 0.13) and 25.2 months (0.22: S.E. = 0.15). Conclusions The null-hypothesis was rejected. The low-viscosity glass ionomer (Fuji VII®) is more effective in treating hypersensitive teeth than Gluma® Desensitizer after 3 months. The positive treatment effect of the glass ionomer continued until 25.2 months.