[Efficacy of a dentifrice containing 5% potassium nitrate on dental hypersensitivity].

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of a dentifrice containing 5% potassium nitrate (test) on dental hypersensitivity compared with the fluoride dentifrice (control) over a 4-week period. METHODS: The study design was a randomized ,double-blinded ,controlled clinical trial. 63 subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups, with 31 were given a 5% potassium nitrate dentifrice (experimental group) and the other 32 given a fluoride dentifrice (control group). Both groups were instructed to brush their teeth twice a day. An air blast stimulus was used to measure the degree of pain using a VAS scale. The data were analysed by the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon-test with SPSS13.0 software package. RESULTS: The VAS (baseline=68.29±8.263, 4-week=31.71±6.378) was significantly reduced over the 4 weeks period in the experimental group (P<0.05). After 4 weeks, VAS in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates that the dentifrice containing 5% potassium nitrate effectively reduces dental hypersensitivity.