Scales for pain assessment in cervical dentin hypersensitivity: a comparative study

Abstract Background Currently, different pain scales are used extensively to measure clinical pain, especially in dental practice. Objective This study aims to compare pain scales used in clinical research and dental practice, identifying the easiest to understand by patients with Cervical Dentin Hypersensitivity. Method Seventy-four patients with Cervical Dentin Hypersensitivity were stimulated by a thermic test of the sensitive tooth, followed by application of different pain measurement scales (Visual Analogue Scale, Faces Pain Scales, Numeric Rating Scale, and Verbal Rating Scale) and by a questionnaire to evaluate the patient's perception regarding the ease of understanding scales. The statistic tests used were the Wilcoxon, Spearman correlation, and Chi-Square tests. Results The results founded a strong positive correlation between the scales (r = 0.798 to 0.960 p