Subgingival debridement with a teflon-coated sonic scaler insert in comparison to conventional instruments and assessment of substance removal on extracted teeth.
OBJECTIVE
Previous studies have shown that endotoxins are located on the periodontally diseased root cementum and not within it. To what extent a Teflon-tubed sonic scaler was capable of removing bacterial deposits in comparison to conventional scaling instruments, and the resulting root surface roughness and root surface topography, were recently assessed. The objective of the present study was to evaluate how much root cementum is removed with these instruments.


METHODS
Eighty-two teeth were treated subgingivally on one approximal site either with a Teflon-coated sonic scaler insert (tSS), a Gracey curette, a conventional sonic scaler (SS), a piezoelectric ultrasonic scaler insert (US), or an oscillating Periotor insert (PT) before extraction. The untreated site served as control. The width and length of cementum removal were compared histomorphometrically. Nonparametric analyses were carried out for statistical comparison.


RESULTS
The US, PT, and tSS inserts removed less substance than the curettes or SS inserts. The cementum removed was 40 microm for root surfaces treated with the curette or SS, 30 microm for those treated with US, 20 microm for PT, and 17 microm for tSS.


CONCLUSIONS
The Teflon-coated sonic scaler inserts can be a reasonable choice for gentle maintenance treatment of compliant patients with good plaque control, and little or no subgingival deposits.
Rühling
Andreas
A
Department of Restorative Dentistry and Periodontology, School of Dentistry, University of Kiel, Germany. ruehling@konspar.uni-kiel.de
Bernhardt
Olaf
O
Kocher
Thomas
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000628:therapy; D003739:Dental Cementum; D003755:Dental High-Speed Technique / Q000009:adverse effects; D003762:Dental Instruments / Q000009:adverse effects; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000628:therapy; D012534:Dental Scaling / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013357:Subgingival Curettage / Q000295:instrumentation; D013499:Surface Properties; D014464:Ultrasonic Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects
D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene