Prevalence and Risk Indicators of Dentine Hypersensitivity among Adults Living in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia

Objectives: To explore the prevalence of dentine hypersensitivity and associated risk indicators among Saudi adults in Riyadh. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed to assess the presence of dentine hypersensitivity in 547 adults who attended the College of Dentistry’s clinics. The assessment tools were questionnaires and clinical dental examinations. Questionnaires included sections of sociodemographic, behavioral, dietary and medical condition variables. Dentine hypersensitivity was examined by passing dental explorers on all teeth surfaces in addition to the application of a blast of cold air from three-in-one syringe. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, t-tests, One-Way Analysis of variance and correlation coefficient tests. Results: Dentine hypersensitivity was observed in 759 teeth among 182 participants yielding tooth prevalence and person’s prevalence of 4.8% and 33.27% respectively. The mean number of teeth with dentine hypersensitivity was 1.39 teeth per person. Dentine hypersensitivity was not significantly related to gender, marital status, or occupation. Also, dentine hypersensitivity was not related to smoking, brushing, flossing, and sewak uses. Drinking soda and coffee, and eating citrus fruits, pickles and seeds were not significantly correlated to dentine hypersensitivity. No associations of dentine hypersensitivity with diabetes, anorexia or Bulimia Nervosa were found. The mean number of teeth with dentine hypersensitivity was higher among those who use of desensitizing toothpaste and those with GERD. Conclusion: Dentine hypersensitivity was present in 4.8 teeth and in 33.3 persons. No significant associations between demographic, behavioral, and medical conditions variable were observed with dentine hypersensitivity except for desensitizing agents users and those suffering GERD condition.