An in vitro evaluation of dentinal tubule occlusion using three desensitizing methods: A scanning electron microscopic study

AIM: The aim is to compare the effects of diode laser, GC tooth mousse, and sodium fluoride (NaF) varnish on dentinal hypersensitivity by scanning electron microscopic (SEM) evaluation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty extracted human maxillary first premolar teeth were selected to prepare dentin disc of 2 mm thickness. The specimens were divided into four groups of 10 discs each-Group 1: Negative control, Group 2: Diode laser, Group 3: GC tooth mousse, and Group 4: NaF varnish. Diode laser and NaF was exposed on dentin disc for three consecutive days. GC tooth mousse was applied twice a day for 1 week. All the specimens were examined under SEM at a magnification of ×1500. The standardized SEM microphotographs were analyzed according to the scoring criteria. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Friedman test with post hoc Wilcoxon sign rank test for pair wise comparison at different time intervals within the group was computed using SPSS version 20. A P < 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. RESULTS: The results showed that the use of diode laser was able to achieve complete occlusion of dentinal tubules followed by the use of GC tooth mousse and that of NaF varnish while control group showed completely open tubules. CONCLUSIONS: Irradiation of dentinal tubules using diode laser could be effective for routine clinical treatment of dentinal hypersensitivity compared to NaF and GC tooth mousse.