title: Evaluation of surface smoothness detected by a periodontal probe.
abstract: An investigation was designed to determine whether or not the required smoothness has been reached. This is still a controversial subject among clinicians. Ten cylindrical metal samples of equal sizes with various degrees of smoothness were prepared, and their degrees of smoothness were assessed in a blind manner by 14 periodontists, who were asked to group them as smooth or rough using a periodontal probe. Along with the metal samples, the roughness of root surfaces smoothed in clinics was also evaluated using a Profilometer. The average value defined as a smooth surface on a max.-min. scale was 1.86 +/- 0.42, and values above 3.57 were considered to be rough. Consequently, decisions taken using the sense of touch about the smoothness of a surface were confirmed to be reliable for clinical use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Atilla
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kandemir
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon; D017554:Carbon Compounds, Inorganic; D003739:Dental Cementum / Q000473:pathology*; D003775:Dental Polishing; D012534:Dental Scaling; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry; D010517:Periodontics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000473:pathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016745:Root Planing; D017655:Silicon Compounds; D013499:Surface Properties; D014092:Tooth Root / Q000473:pathology*; D014110:Touch
chemical_list: D017554:Carbon Compounds, Inorganic; D008670:Metals; D017655:Silicon Compounds; D002244:Carbon; C022088:silicon carbide