COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF FOUR DIFFERENT DESENSITIZING AGENTS ON DENTINAL TUBULE OBLITERATION AND CONDUCTANCE: AN IN VITRO SEM ANALYSIS

Dentinal Hypersensitivity (DH) is a prevalent disorder and one of the most annoying diseases. It is mainly due to exposed dentinal tubules, and the most common clinical cause of exposed dentinal tubules is gingival recession. Besides other treatment options, agents were introduced for partial or complete obturation of dentinal tubules (tubule occluding agents), protein precipitation, or sealing the tubules. This in vitro study aimed to evaluate and compare the occluding effect of Novamin. Colgate propolis, VivaSens and Sensodyne by Scanning Electron Microscopy in a dentin disc model. The test specimens were treated with the desensitizing agents as per the manufacturer's instructions. Subsequent to the treatment, the specimens were dried and prepared for analysis by SEM. The results obtained were statistically analysed by one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of this in-vitro study showed that the majority of dentinal tubules were blocked by Novamin and sensodyne as compared to control group where only few dentinal tubules were blocked. Keywords:  Novamin and sensodyne