Prevalence and Factors Associated with Dentin Hypersensitivity among Adult Patients Attending a University Dental Clinic in Trinidad, West Indies. A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of dentin hypersensitivity (DH) in an adult population and explore its associ-ation with sociodemographic variables, dietary habits and oral health behaviours as there is very little data on this from the Caribbean. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted of consecutive dental patients (18 years and over) attending the UWI School of Dentistry polyclinic. Following informed consent, dental examinations were per -formed and the presence of DH was assessed clinically by sensitivity to an air blast on individual teeth. Patients were also given a questionnaire. Their answers were processed using statistical software (SPSS version 24). Asso-ciations between variables were analysed using the chi-squared test. Results: 300 patients participated, with an age range of 18-81 years and a mean age of 44.7 years (SD 15.7). 68.8% were female and the main ethnic groups were African (45.8%), Indian (29.8%) and mixed (24.4%). Over half of the participants (54.9%) reported a history of sensitive teeth and 52% reported sensitivity to the air syringe on one or more teeth. Based on multivariate logistic regression, a history of sensitive teeth was significantly associ-ated with Indo-Trinidadian ethnicity (OR 2.24, 95% CI: 1.23, 4.45), a history of tooth grinding or jaw clenching (OR 0.38, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.76) and consumption of citrus fruits one to two times daily (OR 0.22, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.85). Those who experienced vomiting irregularly were more likely (OR 2.31, 95% CI: 0.96, 5.54) to have DH. Conclusion: Prevalence of dentin hypersensitivity was high among this sample of dental patients and was associ-ated with ethnicity, tooth grinding and dietary practices.