Comparison of Efficacy of Sensodyne Rapid Relief Containing Strontium Acetate with Placebo in the Management of Pain During Ultrasonic Scaling

Introduction: Sensodyne Rapid Relief is a dentifrice containing 0.454% Stannous Fluoride as an active ingredient has a desensitizing effect observed over a period of 8 weeks. Aim: To assess the efficacy of the Sensodyne rapid relief toothpaste containing Stannous Fluoride as the active ingredient in relieving pain during the ultrasonic scaling procedure. Materials and Methods: This study is a randomized clinical placebo controlled trial with a split mouth design. A total of 50 patients were included in this study with informed consent. The respective contralateral areas with pain during ultrasonic scaling were identified and patient Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was recorded. The selected contralateral areas were isolated. Test area was applied with Sensodyne Rapid Relief toothpaste (SRRT) and left in place for 5 minutes and the control area was applied with a placebo toothpaste (PT) with no active ingredient. Then ultrasonic scaling was done in both the test and control areas. The water and power control was kept constant throughout the study. During ultrasonic scaling, the patient visual analog scale (VAS) was recorded again for both the test and control areas. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS 20.0 software with significance fixed at 95 % CI (p <0.05).Results: The mean difference VAS scores between pre and post application for the test group (SRRT) was statistically significant higher (p < 0.001) than the control group (PT).Conclusion: SRRT containing 0.454% Stannous Fluoride (an active ingredient) can be effectively used to reduce pain and discomfort during the ultrasonic scaling procedure.