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SEATTLE, Wash., USA: A new cross-sectional study of almost 800 U.S. adults has found that one in eight patients suffer from dentine hypersensitivity. The prevalence was especially high among patients younger than 65 and women in particular.

The study was conducted from September 2010 through May 2011 in 37 dental practices in the Northwest Practice-based REsearch Collaborative in Evidence-based DENTistry, a research network that is composed of general and pediatric dentists and orthodontists in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington. A total of 787 adult participants were surveyed.

Overall, 40 percent of the participants reported having experienced pain, sensitivity or discomfort in their teeth or gingivae. About 64 percent of the patients reported that the symptoms had started more than six months prior to the survey, and more than 88 percent reported experiencing pain half of the time or occasionally.

According to the study, about 12 percent were diagnosed with dentine hypersensitivity. Those patients were mostly female (56 percent) and had high rates of gingival recession (58 percent). The prevalence was higher among the 18- to 44-year-olds than among participants aged 65 or older.

Moreover, the researchers found that more than 50 percent of the participants had used at-home treatments, while only 22 percent had sought in-office treatments for dentine hypersensitivity. However, more than half of the patients in the first group reported that the treatment had not been effective or that the results had lasted less than six weeks. In-office treatment provided sustained relief to about 38 percent of the participants.

As data regarding the prevalence of dentine hypersensitivity varies greatly in prior studies, a more thorough understanding of the condition's prevalence is required to develop treatments for sensitive teeth that are more successful, the researchers concluded.