October 2013

Aim: To evaluate and compare the efficacy of oxalate-containing desensitizer BisBlock™ and glutaraldehyde-containing desensitizer Gluma®. Materials and methods: A subject-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted among 50 adult patients of age ranging from 18 - 65 years who self-reported dentine hypersensitivity. Each participant with at least one tooth with hypersensitivity in two different quadrants and showing a response of ≥ 3 on a visual analogue scale (VAS) to an evaporative stimulus was included in the study. The teeth were evaluated immediately after treatment, and after 24 hrs, one week, one month and 3 months from the baseline after application of BisBlock™, an oxalate-containing desensitizer, and Gluma®, a glutaraldehyde-containing desensitizer. Results: Fifty participants were enrolled in the study. Means and standard deviations of VAS scores were calculated. The level of significance was set to p < 0.05. Statistically significant reduction in mean scores was found after application of Gluma® and Bis- Block™ desensitizer (p < 0.001) at all time intervals. BisBlock™ yielded a statistically significant greater reduction in dentine hypersensitivity at 1 week (p < 0.05) and 1 month (p < 0.01) with evaporative stimulus. Conclusion: Compared with Gluma®, BisBlock™ gave statistically significantly greater reduction in hypersensitivity.