EVALUATION OF THE DENTIN DESENSITIZING EFFICACY OF PASTE CONTAINING 8% ARGININE AND CALCIUM CARBONATE DURING DENTAL SCALING PROCEDURE
Background: Dentin hypersensitivity (DH) is a short, sharp pain of teeth that can affect quality of life and treatment of oral dental diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the dentin desensitizing efficacy after single application of paste containing 8% Arginine and Calcium carbonate (A-C) during dental scaling procedure (DSP). Methods: This single-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted with 64 patients including 328 teeth with DH in which, group A: application of 8% A-C paste immediately before DSP and group B: application of 8% A-C paste immediately after DSP. On each patient, teeth with DH in both sides of jaw were randomized in 2 groups: the treatment was applied by 8% A-C paste, and the control was applied by pumice prophylaxis paste (PPP). DH scores were evaluated5 times: T0 (base-line), T1 (the group A: immediately after application of 8% A-C paste in the treatment and PPP in the control; the group B: similar to the group A but immediately after DSP), T2 (the group A: immediately after DSP; the group B: immediately after application of 8% A-C paste in the treatment and PPP in the control), T3 (1 week later), and T4 (4 weeks later). Results: In group A: the treatment had a reduced DH score immediately after applying the 8% A-C paste from T1 to T4 (the reduced percentage of DH of T1, T2, T3, and T4 were 43.11%, 43.11%, 44.89%, and 44.45% respectively) in comparison with baseline score. The group B: immediately after DSP, the DH score increased in both groups but the treatment had a reduced DH score immediately after applying the 8% A-C paste from T2 to T4 (42.32%, 44.81% and 43.98% respectively) in comparison with the T1. Conclusion: A single application of the 8% A-C paste immediately before or after DSP had an effect on reducing the DH immediately and this effect lasted 4 weeks later. Key words: Dentin hypersensitivity, paste containing 8% Arginine and Calcium carbonate