title: Comparative reproducibility of proximal probing depth using electronic pressure-controlled and hand probing.
abstract: This investigation assessed the effect of an electronic pressure-sensitive probe on the reproducibility of probing-depth measurement. Clinical measurements were made at the mesial and distal aspects of all teeth from the buccal and palatal or lingual aspects. Probing was carried out either in a conventional manner using gentle pressure referred to as hand probing or using an electronic pressure-sensitive probe set at 25 g and referred to as pressure-controlled probing. Probing-depth recordings were repeated for one randomly selected quadrant in each subject with random application of the 4 different combinations of pressure-controlled and hand probing. A total of 2584 replicate pairs of probing depth measurements were recorded on 4 proximal surfaces in 646 teeth in 100 adult subjects. The majority (98%) of all repeated measurements were within 1 mm of the initial values. The highest levels of agreement resulted when the same probing method was used at both examinations with electronic pressure-controlled probing being superior to hand probing regardless of tooth position or site. Duplicate measurements recorded with combinations of hand and pressure-controlled probing showed significant systematic bias towards shallower pocket depths with electronic pressure-controlled probing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Restorative Dentistry, School of Clinical Dentistry, Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Mullally
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Linden
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015982:Bias; D002138:Calibration; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000473:pathology; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000473:pathology; D004582:Electronics, Medical / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000473:pathology; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D010517:Periodontics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011312:Pressure; D015203:Reproducibility of Results