Evaluation of the Effect of Adjunctive Use of Calcium Hydroxide Combined with Periodontal Dressing on Dentin Hypersensitivity after Periodontal Surgery

Introduction: Dentinal hypersensitivity is one of the most common complications which many patients complain in different ways. Dentinal hypersensitivity is caused by the opening of dentinal tubules to an oral cavity due to fractures, attritions, etc. It is a common complications after periodontal surgery. Many treatments have been suggested for this problem, till now. Calcium hydroxide is one of the materials used for treatment of root hypersensitivity after periodontal surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of calcium hydroxide combined with periodontal dressing on root hypersensitivity after periodontal surgery. Materials & Methods: This study was done on 30 patients with severe periodontitis who needed periodontal surgery for both quadrants in each jaw. In each patient one quadrant was treated as a test and the other side was used as a control. In the test group 90mg of Calcium Hydrixude powder mixed with 1cm of Co-pack covered the site surgical. Twenty-one patients completed the procedure After surgery, a periodontal dressing combined with calcium hydroxide covered the area on the test side. The other side was used as a control and covered with a pure dressing. After one week the dressing was removed and the amount of hypersensitivity was measured with air flow and an explorer using the visual analog scale. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon sign rank test. Results: The results showed that there were not any significant differences between the two sides in root sensitivity, but Plaque index in the test sides was lower than the control side. Conclusion: The periodontal dressing can not be used as a carrier for calcium hydroxide to reduce root hypersensitivity after periodontal surgery. Decrease in plaque accumulation after using the combination of calcium hydroxide and periodontal dressing may accelerate surgical wound healing but further investigations are necessary. Key words: Calcium hydroxide, periodontal dressing, root hypersensitivity.