M. Kuroiwa et al., DENTIN HYPERSENSITIVITY - OCCLUSION OF DENTINAL TUBULES BY BRUSHING WITH AND WITHOUT AN ABRASIVE DENTIFRICE, Journal of periodontology, 65(4), 1994, pp. 291-296
DAILY TOOTHBRUSHING WITH AND WITHOUT an abrasive dentifrice was perfor
med on the ground surfaces of human cervical dentin attached to resin
plates, which had been exposed to the oral cavities of 4 subjects for
8 weeks. Brushing with a dentifrice containing calcium hydrogen phosph
ate as an abrasive caused most of the dentinal tubules to open. The pa
tency of dentinal tubules is thought to induce dentin hypersensitivity
. Brushing without a dentifrice, on the other hand, resulted in occlus
ion of the dentinal tubules with organic pellicle-containing minerals.
Furthermore, abrasion did not occur; however, no bacterial plaque or
dental calculus were retained. The occluded tubules which were distrib
uted over the entire dentin surfaces will likely prevent hypersensitiv
ity. Such organic-mineral materials occluding the tubules can be deriv
ed from saliva and embedded by the brushing. We suggest that use of a
non-abrasive dentifrice will prevent or reduce dentin hypersensitivity
in the cervical regions.