A self-adhesive resin cement from Heraeus Kulzer was found to result in less postoperative sensitivity than a resin-modified glass ionomer cement in a new study in Clinical Oral Investigations (July 11, 2012).
For this randomized clinical trial, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine cemented 88 crowns to vital teeth using either the self-adhesive cement iCem (n = 44) or the glass ionomer Fuji Plus (GC America; n = 44).
Before preparations, patients were questioned about sensitivity. In addition, air was blown for 2 seconds onto the buccal cementoenamel junction, and ice spray was applied in the cementoenamel junction area.
After the crowns were cemented, patients were returned for follow-up visits at one day, one week, and three weeks.
The two groups revealed comparable sensitivity scores at baseline, the researchers noted. However, the iCem showed significantly lower patient sensitivity scores at one day (p = 0.02) and significantly lower air sensitivity scores at the one-week follow-up (p = 0.01). The ice spray generally produced the highest sensitivity scores, with iCem revealing significantly lower scores at all follow-up visits, according to the study authors.
Some self-adhesive resin cements appear to lower postoperative sensitivity of crowned teeth, they concluded.
