Improving dentine hypersensitvity diagnosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A multi disciplinary approach for improving the diagnosis of dentine hypersensitivity
IRAS ID
351648
Contact name
Barry Gibson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 0 days
Research summary
Dentine hypersensitivity is a common oral health complaint that affects about 25-30% of the adult population. The diagnosis of the condition is limited by the lack of reliable or standardised methods and the subjectivity involved in measuring the pain. This research project aims to investigate the implications of the limited diagnostic testing on patients experiencing dentine hypersensitivity. The study will also explore salivary microbiome analysis as a potential way for introducing objectivity in the diagnostic process and the participants’ acceptability for microbiome testing. This research is the first step in exploring a cross-disciplinary approach to advancing the diagnosis of dentine hypersensitivity by combining patient-centred methods along with clinical microbiome analysis, which to date has not previously been considered in dental research. The study is designed with a mixed methods approach with qualitative and quantitative components. The qualitative component will recruit up to 30 participants diagnosed with dentine hypersensitivity, conduct semi-structured interviews and involve dialogical narrative analysis focusing on how easy or difficult it is for patients to have diagnostic conversations with their dentists, what role diagnosis plays in their lives and how it affects their behaviour in relation to the condition. The quantitative part will compare the salivary bacterial presence in 30 participants per group (with and without dentine hypersensitvity) using 16S rRNA analysis and thus, explore the feasibility of the potential role of salivary biomarkers in supporting dentine hypersensitivity diagnostics. The potential impact of the findings or results on participants' quality of life and their acceptance of a biomedical diagnostic test in the future will aslo be explored in a focus group discussion of 8 participants.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NW/0249
Date of REC Opinion
11 Sep 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion