title: Discomfort/pain due to pocket probing at teeth and endosseous implants: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients seem to feel more discomfort/pain after peri-implant probing than after periodontal probing. However, there is not one single study to address this clinical observation. Thus, this study was designed to compare discomfort/pain after peri-implant and periodontal probing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Each of three dentists recruited and examined 20 patients each contributing one pair of one dental implant and a contralateral natural tooth. Periodontal and peri-implant probing depths (PPD) and probing attachment level (PAL) were assessed. Whether the implant or the tooth was measured first was randomly assigned. Immediately after probing, the patients scored discomfort/pain using a visual analogue scale (VAS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 60 patients (median; lower/upper quartile: age 62.5; 47.5/69.0 years; 35 females, five smokers) were examined. With the exception of PPD at the deepest site (implants: 4.0; 3.0/5.5 mm; teeth: 3.0; 3.0/4.0 mm; P = 0.032), clinical parameters (PPD, PAL, bleeding on probing, suppuration) were well balanced between implants and teeth. Peri-implant probing (VAS: 16.4; 8.7/28.2) caused significantly (P = 0.011) more discomfort/pain than periodontal probing (9.1; 4.6/18.2). Repeated-measures analysis identified peri-implant probing causing more discomfort than periodontal probing related to the examiner (P = 0.046).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  On average, peri-implant probing caused significantly more discomfort/pain than periodontal probing.
authors.affiliation: Private Practice, Kassel, Germany.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ringeling
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery and Implantology, Center for Dentistry and Oral Medicine (Carolinum), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Puria
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parvini
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery and Implantology, Center for Dentistry and Oral Medicine (Carolinum), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weinbach
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery and Implantology, Center for Dentistry and Oral Medicine (Carolinum), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Georg-Hubertus
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Nentwig
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Center for Dentistry and Oral Medicine (Carolinum), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nickles
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Center for Dentistry and Oral Medicine (Carolinum), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eickholz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous; D015921:Dental Implants; D012534:Dental Scaling; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D010514:Periodontal Pocket; D064232:Visual Analog Scale
chemical_list: D015921:Dental Implants
keywords: dental implants; discomfort/pain; peri-implant probing; periodontal probing; visual analogue scale