Knowledge of Students and General Practitioners regarding the Treatment of Dentine Hypersensitivity

DHS is an oral health problem occurring in 10-20% of adults that can alter their lifestyle and quality of life. DHS may also be triggered by some routine dental treatments such as scaling and polishing, thus making a regular dental visit unpleasant and distressing for the patient. This cross-sectional study was carried out using an online survey among Riyadh dental students and general practitioners. An online questionnaire was constructed including demographic data and personal questions followed by dentine hypersensitivity patients' exposure, symptoms, treatment, and prevention questions. 14.7% reported that more than 40 patients visit every six months with DHS, 69.5% believed DHS has a major impact on the quality of life, a gingival recession was thought to be the most common cause of DHS (23%), history of hypersensitivity was considered to be the most common method of diagnosing DHS, only 19.1% were extremely confident in correctly diagnosing DHS. There is a need to increase educational material regarding the DHS at undergraduate levels to improve their knowledge and confidence levels.