| Objective Dentine hypersensitivity(DH) has been described as generally occurring in patients from 30 to 50 years old, however, with the changes of lifestyles and dietary patterns, DH is becoming more prevalent in younger age groups. This study aims to determine the prevalence and to examine related factors in order to promote oral health awareness and hygiene situation of DH among undergraduate students in Hefei city and hopes to provide the basis for university students, prevention from DH and the healthcare.Methods Our study population is the undergraduate students from Hefei city. 3500 undergraduate students from five universities in Hefei city were randomly selected for questionnaire investigation and intraoral tests. SPSS13.0 software was used for statistical analysis.Results A total of 3227 students(1315 females, 1912 males) responded to the survey, 2114(65.5%) reported DH symptoms, of which 364 were further diagnosed as DH, resulting the overall prevalence was 11.3%. The prevalence of DH in females was significantly higher than that in males(14.8% VS 8.8%, χ2=18.78, P<0.01). In total, 656 hypersensitive teeth were detected among the 364 subjects with DH. The mean number of hypersensitive teeth per person was 1.8. Results for the distribution of tooth types showed that premolar teeth were mainly affected(71.2%), followed by the anterior teeth(14.7%), and while the molar was the least affected(14.0%). Of all affected premolars, the left upper premolar account for the highest proportion, up 10.7%. Sour stimulus were the major cause of DH(44.2%) followed by Cold stimulus(38.2%), hard foods(25.8%), Sweet stimulus(19.5%), brushing(9.6%), hot drink/foods(8.2%).Regarding to awareness of the oral prevention, 64.3% of all students reported that they had never go for an oral health examination while 7.1% did so every half to one yr and 16.2% every 1-2 yr and 12.4% at least every 2 yr. Regarding to the behavior of seeking medical advice, Only 10.4% of students complained of DH reported that they visited the dentist for the discomfort. The majority(67.1%) of patients did not visit the dentist to desensitize their teeth because they did not perceive DH to be a severe oral health problem. 15.2% of students did so because of lacking of time while 10.8% because of cannot afford the therapy. After adjustment for confounders, the results showed the risk factors of DH as following: non-medical school [OR=2.05, 95%CI(1.33, 3.15), P=0.001], hard toothbrush [OR=24.46, 95%CI(14.63, 40.90), P<0.001], tooth-brushing horizontally [OR=64.16, 95%CI(40.71, 101.11),P<0.001], tooth-brushing vertically [OR=2.11, 95%CI(1.23, 3.63), P=0.007], frequency of acid fruits consumption(3-5 times per week) [OR=11.28, 95%CI(5.85, 21.73), P<0.001] and frequency of carbonated drinks consumption(days) [OR=2.42, 95%CI(1.15, 5.09), P=0.020] respectively(3-5 times per week) [OR=11.31, 95%CI(6.53, 19.59), P<0.001].Conclusions The prevalence of DH among undergraduate students in Hefei city of China was 11.3%. Females presented with higher prevalence teeth than men, with a significant statistical difference. Left upper first premolar was the most commonly affected tooth and the mean number of sensitive teeth was 1.8. The greatest cause for DH was sour. Non-medical students, hard toothbrush, tooth brushing horizontally and vertically, frequency of acid fruits consumption(3-5 times per week) and frequency of carbonated drinks consumption(days and 3-5 times per week) were significantly associated with DH. Undergraduate students of Hefei city are lack of recognition and prevention from DH, Therefore, the publicity and education of DH among university student should be pointedly strengthened. |
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