Efficacy of a toothpaste containing 5% potassium nitrate in desensitizing dentin hypersensitivity

Objective: This clinical trial compared the pain reduction achieved by a 5% potassium nitrate (KNO₃) desensitizing toothpaste paste versus placebo on adult patients with tooth hypersensitivity. Methods: Investigators identified adult patients with hypersensitive teeth (which are nonpathologic such as caries) after scaling. Each hypersensitive tooth was isolated and tested with a blast of compressed cold air delivered from a three-in-one syringe. The patient was then asked to indicate a sensitivity score using the visual analog scale (VAS) from 0 to 10. Patients received 30 seconds application of desensitizing toothpaste containing 5% potassium nitrate (KNO₃) (Group 1) and the others with placebo toothpaste (Group 2). The teeth were tested for the second time with compressed cold air, and the patients were asked to report the VAS again. A non-parametric test was used to analyze the results following a normality test of the VAS. Results: The Primary sampling unit for analysis were tooth. A total of 78 teeth were analyzed (Group 1 = 32 teeth and Group 2 = 46 teeth). The mean age of the patients was 29.9, and 64% of the 33 subjects were female. The median pre-treatment VAS of Groups 1 and 2 was 6 and 5, whereas the post-treatment VAS was 0 and 4, respectively (p<0.001). The median percentage reductions in sensitivity scores of Groups 1 and 2 were 60% and 20%, respectively (p<0.001). Conclusion: This clinical trial showed the use of the desensitizing toothpaste containing 5% potassium nitrate on hypersensitive teeth was significantly a more effective in immediate pain reduction than using placebo toothpaste.