Comparison of two pressure-sensitive periodontal probes and a manual periodontal probe in shallow and deep pockets.
Three periodontal probes--a manual probe and two computerized, pressure-sensitive probes--were studied to determine their relative recording accuracy. In the first part of the study, replicate probing measurements were taken with the three probes at shallow (less than 5 mm) and deeper (greater than or equal to 5 mm) periodontal sites. In the second part of the study, probing depths were determined on all teeth except third molars by the three probing techniques at a single appointment. Mean values between replicate probings for each instrument did not differ statistically, except for duplicate measurements with one of the electronic probes in pockets with depths greater than 5 mm. All three probes demonstrated higher standard deviations with increasing depth, which indicates decreased reproducibility of probing depth measurements. Results of this study suggest that an electronic, pressure-sensitive probe yields more reproducible probing depth measurements than a conventional manual periodontal probe.
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University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia 19104.
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000175:diagnosis; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D010517:Periodontics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011312:Pressure; D015203:Reproducibility of Results