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Evaluation of clinical and radiographic scoring methods before and after initial periodontal therapy
Author(s) -
Hämmerle Christoph H. F.,
Ingold HansPeter,
Lang Niklaus P.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of clinical periodontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.456
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1600-051X
pISSN - 0303-6979
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-051x.1990.tb00022.x
Subject(s) - radiography , medicine , dentistry , dental alveolus , alveolar crest , periodontitis , oral hygiene , scaling and root planing , orthodontics , gingival and periodontal pocket , clinical attachment loss , alveolar process , chronic periodontitis , surgery
The purpose of the present study was to compare the determination of the attachment level by probing and by measuring bone heights prior to and after the completion of a hygienic phase of periodontal therapy. 68 patients with moderate to severely advanced periodontitis underwent initial (hygienic phase) therapy including scaling and root planing, oral hygiene instructions and the elimination of plaque retention factors. Measurements of pocket probing depths, probing attachment levels and the location of gingival margins in relation to the cemento‐enamel junction were performed at 4 aspects of each tooth with a thin calibrated probe at a baseline examination and 3 to 5 months following treatment. During these 3 to 5 months, the patients were kept in a maintenance care program. On the full‐mouth radiographs obtained at baseline, the distance from the cemento‐enamel junction to the marginal alveolar crest was measured in millimeters and as a % of the root length. Furthermore, a subgroup of 11 patients, who were scheduled for modified Widman flap procedures, received another full‐mouth radiographic examination before the surgical treatment. In addition, the level of the alveolar crest was assessed with a periodontal probe during the surgical procedure. The comparison of the different clinical and radiographic parameters showed the best correlations between the various radiographic measurements of bone heights (r = 0.87; r = 0.86). Clinical measurements of probing attachment level and probing level of the alveolar crest revealed slightly weaker correlations (r = 0.72). When comparing radiographic bone heights with clinical measurements of probing attachment levels, the lowest correlations were found (r = 0.65; r = 0.61; r = 0.61).