Ability of three desensitizing agents in dentinal tubule obliteration and durability: An in vitro study

AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of three desensitizing agents on dentinal tubule obliteration and their durability in use on the dentinal tubules. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty specimens were obtained from 30 extracted sound human maxillary first premolars. Each tooth was mesiodistally sectioned to obtain 30 buccal and 30 lingual surfaces, and enamel was removed in order to simulate hypersensitive dentin. Specimens were divided into four groups with 15 specimens each. Group 1 samples were immersed in artificial saliva, Group 2 samples were coated with Vivasens, Group 3 samples were coated with VOCO Admira Protect, and Group 4 samples were coated with Neo Active Apatite suspension. These specimens were examined under scanning electron microscope (SEM) to find out the occluding ability of the respective products. The specimens were brushed to find out their durability for 1 week and 1 month and were examined under SEM. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The results were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's test. RESULTS: Group 1 differed significantly from the Vivasens, Admira, and Neo Active Apatite groups at 5% level of significance (P < 0.05). The Vivasens group differed significantly from the Admira and Neo Active Apatite groups at 5% level of significance (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The Ormocer-based Admira Protect showed the best results.