In vitro quantification of changes in human dentine tubule parameters using SEM and digital analysis

summary  Dentine hypersensitivity is recognized as a pain arising from fluid movement within dentine tubules that are open to the oral environment. Blocking the tubules is considered to be the principal aim of treatment, and the accurate assessment of tubule occlusion is the primary goal of many in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of oral rehabilitation 2005-08, Vol.32 (8), p.589-597
Main Authors: AHMED, T. R., MORDAN, N. J., GILTHORPE, M. S., GILLAM, D. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
dentine
Dentistry
digital image analysis
Humans
hypersensitivity
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Molar, Third - drug effects
Molar, Third - ultrastructure
multilevel modelling
quantification
scanning electron microscopy
Sensitivity and Specificity
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Summary:summary  Dentine hypersensitivity is recognized as a pain arising from fluid movement within dentine tubules that are open to the oral environment. Blocking the tubules is considered to be the principal aim of treatment, and the accurate assessment of tubule occlusion is the primary goal of many in vitro studies. This assessment usually comprises either measuring tubule permeability or scanning electron microscope examination of the dentine surface. Several scanning microscopy studies have claimed to quantify tubule occlusion, but are descriptive, qualitative or semi‐quantitative evaluations. The present study was undertaken to assess the use of digital image analysis in quantifying the effectiveness of a selected desensitizing agent from micrographs of control and treated dentine surfaces. Using a dentine disc model, an accurate methodology was sought to investigate the occluding potential of Butler Protect (J.O. Butler, Chicago, IL, USA). Subjective examination of the images indicated there was little difference after a single application, but considerable effect after 20 applications. Quantitative digital analysis of a test image, demonstrated reproducibility between two examiners when used in fully‐ and semi‐automated mode. After a single application of Butler Protect, multilevel statistical modelling demonstrated decreases in tubule area and maximum, minimum and mean diameter measurements (P 
ISSN:0305-182X
1365-2842
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2842.2005.01473.x