The potential effect of smoking and social class on dentine hypersensitivity: a cross sectional study. Kaur Gurpreet1, Assistant Professor, Grover Deepak, Assistant Professor, Thomas Biju, Professor & Head, Shetty Prasad B., Assistant Professor 1Address for Correspondence: Dr. Gurpreet Kaur Assistant Professor Department of Periodontics National Dental College & Hospital Derabassi
Online published on 7 December, 2011. Abstract Background Dentine hypersensitivity is a recurrent condition causing discomfort and sometimes pain to the patient, which also deters him from maintaining adequate oral hygiene. Aims The aim of the study is to carry out a cross sectional study of patients visiting the dental clinic to estimate the prevalence of dentine hypersensitivity, to investigate the potential effect of smoking and social class on dentine hypersensitivity and to correlate between the amount of gingival recession and the prevalence of dentine hypersensitivity. Materials and Methods A total number of 514 patients visiting the Department of Periodontics A.B. Shetty Dental College & Hospital, Mangalore were examined for dentine hypersensitivity patients that had dentine hypersensitivity diagnosed were questioned further about their occupation and smoking habits, teeth affected and the factors initiating sensitivity. The amount of buccal gingival recession associated with the sensitive teeth was also recorded, various methods employed to manage the sensitivity are also recorded. The relationship between dentine hypersensitivity and social class was examined using the register general's classification of occupations. Results The overall prevalence figure for dentine hypersensitivity reported in this study is 8.7%. Average age of the effected patients is 41.4 years with the highest number of patients belonged to the 30–50 years age of group. The commonest teeth affected were the upper premolar and first molar teeth The number of sensitive teeth classified by tooth type showed that the upper premolars and first molars are the most commonly affected. The buccal gingival recession was found in the majority (87%) of sensitive teeth in the range of 1-3mm. Among the various initiating factors recorded, the commonest initiating factor was cold drinks in 55% of the sample. A tendency for a greater number of sensitive teeth was also found for patients with periodontal disease who also smoked. The number of sensitive teeth per patient was approximately double in smokers with periodontal disease compared to smokers with no periodontal disease (5.9 Vs. 3.2). The amount of gingival recession is approximately one third greater in patients who smoked and also had periodontal disease. There was also a tendency for the patients with sensitive teeth to come from higher social groups with 88% of the sensitive teeth being found is the top social groups (II, IIIn, IIIM). Conclusion The data suggests that hypersensitivity may occur more commonly in patients who have periodontal disease (and also smoke) and in patients with higher social class. Top Keywords Dentine, Dentine hypersensitivity, Gingival recession, smoking. Top |