**2.2 Awareness of dentine hypersensitivity by clinicians**

According to the findings of the Canadian Advisory Board on Dentin Hypersensitivity [6], 14 knowledge gaps were identified from the survey of participating clinicians, and these were classified as relating to either the causes and *Management and Prevention Strategies for Treating Dentine Hypersensitivity DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101495*

diagnosis or the management of the condition. It was evident from these findings that the prevalence of DH was underestimated, and this was due in part to the lack of routine screening for the condition by clinicians. Less than 50% of the participants considered a differential diagnosis to eliminate other dental conditions with similar pain characteristics to those of DH. There was also confusion regarding the nature of the predisposing factors associated with DH as well a misunderstanding of how desensitizing products work (mechanism of action). Furthermore, about 50% of the participants indicated that they lacked confidence in treating DH effectively with a similar percentage indicating that they would try to modify any predisposing factors prior to further treatment. A recent review of questionnaire studies on the awareness of DH by clinicians indicated that there are still areas of concern in the understanding of the underlying principles involved in the management of DH [7].
