Cervical dentin hypersensitivity. Part II: Associations with abfractive lesions

Objective: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the asso ciation between cervical dentin hypersensitivity and the presence of abfrac tive lesions. Method and materials: Written records and study casts for 250 active-care patients, selected alphabetically, were analyzed for the clini cal detection of abfractive lesions and cervical dentin hypersensitivity fr om 1979 until 1996. Clinical diagnosis of abfractive lesions was made accor ding to existing literature descriptions of these hard tissue lesions. Cerv ical dentin hypersensitivity was diagnosed when a verified positive thresho ld patient response was found during tooth evaluation by the air indexing m ethod. Patient groups I and II were formed solely on the basis of the prese nce or absence, respectively, of a verified positive threshold patient resp onse of cervical dentin to air. Results: A significant association was foun d between air-indexed cervical hypersensitivity and the presence of abfract ive lesions. The primary locations for both cervical hypersensitivity and a bfractive lesions were the buccal surfaces of posterior teeth. Conclusion: This long-term retrospective study found a positive association between cer vical dentin hypersensitivity and abfractive lesions. The correlative natur e of this study suggests the need for further investigation.