牙本質知覺過敏或牙根敏感在牙科臨床上是一種相當常見的症狀。據報導，在美國至少有四千萬人患有牙齒敏感的現象，影響所及遍佈於不同的年齡層。牙本質知覺過敏被誘發的時候主要症狀為立即性短暫且尖銳疼痛，容易會造成病人生理上或心理上的不適感，有些反應則是鈍痛。實質上，牙本質知覺過敏的形成需要兩個步驟：第一，牙本質必須暴露（疾病局部化）；第二，牙本質小管的兩邊都一定要向口腔內及牙髓開口（疾病初始化）。近年來，多數學者採用流體動力理論為主要的作用機制：藉由液體在牙本質小管的移動進而刺激在齒髓內的神經纖維。因此，牙本質知覺過敏的治療方法也大都根據此理論做延伸，最常見可分類為兩大類：（1）牙本質小管封閉劑（2）神經去敏感劑。然而，針對牙本質知覺過敏症的機轉，仍有許多牙醫師不是十分清楚，進而影響其治療方法。因此，此篇文章目的是希望藉由文獻的回顧來引導臨床醫生的診斷流程及幫助他們為病人適合的處理。

Dentine Hypersensitivity (DH) or Root Sensitivity (RS) is a well known clinical condition that has been reported to affect the adult population at various stages of their life, affecting about 40 millions adults in
the US. The main features of DH/RS include rapid onset, sharp character and short duration that can cause patients discomfort physically or psychologically even though occasionally pain may be dull. Essentially,
two processes need to occur before the patient experience DH/RS: firstly, dentine must be exposed (lesionlocalisation) and secondly, the dentine tubule must be patent to the pulp (lesion initiation). Currently, most
investigators accepted the hydrodynamic theory as a main mechanism of DH/RS, involving rapid fluid movement in dentinal tubules and in turn activates the sensory nerves in the pulp-dentine area. The current
rationale therefore for the treatment of DH/RS is based the hydrodynamic theory, namely by 1) tubule occluders and 2) nerve desensitizers.However, many dental clinicians may have misconceptions about DH/RS and lack the confidence to manage DH/RS. Hence, the aim of this article is to review the available published literature in order to know how to diagnose dentin hypersensitivity and provide appropriate treatments and recommendations for patients.