D

Silver nitrate is a powerful caustic that coagulates proteins and chemically plugs open dentinal tubules, producing reliable, long-lasting desensitization. Texts and reviews on dentin hypersensitivity list it among the most effective topical agents, whereas alcohol and chlorhexidine are antiseptics and trichloroacetic acid is used mainly for soft-tissue cautery rather than dentin desensitization [Andronikaki-Faldani, 1988, PMID 3153691; Collaert, 1991, PMID 1891631].