Efficacy of Milk as a Desensitizing Agent for the Treatment of Sensitivity Following Scaling and Root Planing

BACKGROUND: Dentine hypersensitivity (DH) is the most common problem encountered by most of the dentists in their day-to-day clinical practice. It is characterized by a sharp pain or discomfort arising as a response to thermal, chemical, or osmotic stimuli and is caused due to exposure of dentine after the enamel or cementum at the root surface has been lost by the treatment, underlying dental and gingival diseases or physiologic wear and tear of the teeth. This further complicates preventive oral hygiene procedures by the patients, which jeopardize periodontal treatment or may as well aid in periodontal treatment failure. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of commercially available milk as a desensitizing agent for the treatment of sensitivity following scaling and root planing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients were selected randomly for scaling and then assessed for sensitivity. Those patients having DH were divided into two groups, wherein the Group A (test) patients were advised to rinse with commercially available milk at room temperature and those in Group B (control) with a commercially available mouthwash (Sentosil-SF). A four-point verbal rating scale was designed to record the numerical value of DH and were recalled for follow-up on 4(th), 7(th), and 10(th) day posttreatment. RESULTS: The study demonstrated that there was a considerable reduction in hypersensitivity in both the groups on the 7(th) and 10(th) day. In the milk group, eight patients showed a complete reduction in hypersensitivity on 7(th) day and 13 patients on 10(th) day, while in the mouthwash group, five patients showed the same on 7(th) day and ten patients on the 10(th) day, thus suggesting that more individuals in the milk group were benefited. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in every visit. CONCLUSION: Although there is a vast literature available which suggests the efficacy of commercially available mouthwash in reducing hypersensitivity, this study is the first of its kind which evaluates the efficacy of commercially available milk in reducing sensitivity which is induced postscaling. Considering that milk rinse is cheap and easily available at home, it can be used as a desensitizing agent, and rinsing with milk for few days is effective and stable in quick reduction of hypersensitivity induced by scaling.