The Use of Ozone Therapy in Combination with a Desensitizing Agent for Dentinal Tubules Occlusion: An In Vitro Study

A new method for reducing dentin hypersensitivity is ozone therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ozone therapy combined with a desensitizing agent in reducing dentin hypersensitivity.

Sixty samples of dentin sections were distributed randomly into 3 groups as group 1 (control group) with 20 samples, group 2 (Gluma group) with 20 samples. The discs were coated with Gluma. Moreover, for group 3 (Gluma+O3) with 20 samples, the samples were treated with ozone therapy followed by treatment with Gluma. Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) views of the dentin specimens were acquired, and the average tubule occlusion amount was recorded in each case employing a suitable scoring system.

The control group demonstrated no completely occluded tubules, while the Gluma group showed a mean occlusion of 33.39% (±13.83). The highest level of complete occlusion was observed in the Gluma + O3 group, where the mean percentage reached 80.87% (±10.31). The Gluma group had a mean partial occlusion of 5.17% (±4.11), and the Gluma + O3 group showed a higher mean partial occlusion of 6.33% (±4.25).

Since 20% of the dentin is formed from organic matrix, which is mainly composed of collagen, different studies have shown that degradation of collagen bonds can occur due to the oxidative action of O3. Therefore, ozone can reduce dentin sensitivity by mechanically blocking the dentinal tubules.

Compared to applying the Gluma agent alone, it was discovered that ozone treatment resulted in a more compact deposition of the Gluma desensitizer particles.