The effectiveness of optical coherence tomography for evaluating peri-implant tissue: A pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been investigated as a novel diagnostic imaging tool. The utilisation of this equipment has been evaluated through several studies in the field of dentistry. The aim of this preliminary study was to determine through basic experiments the effectiveness of OCT in implant dentistry.


METHODS
To assess detection ability, we captured OCT images of implants in each of the following situations: (1) implants covered with mucosae of various thicknesses that were harvested from the mandibles of pigs; (2) implants installed in the mandibles of pigs; and (3) implants with abutments and crowns fixed with temporary cement. The OCT images were captured before cementation, after cementation, and after removing the excess submucosal cement.


RESULTS
If the thickness of the mucosa covering the implant body was less than 1 mm, the images of the implants were clearly detected by OCT. In the implants were installed in pigs' mandibles, it was difficult to capture clear images of the implant and alveolar bone in most of the samples. Remnants of excess cement around the implants were visible in most samples that had a mucosa thickness of less than 3 mm.


CONCLUSIONS
Currently, OCT imaging of implants is limited. Cement remnants at the submucosal area can be detected in some cases, which can be helpful in preventing peri-implant diseases. Still, though there are some restrictions to its application, OCT could have potential as an effective diagnostic instrument in the field of implant dentistry as well.
Department of Oral Implantology and Regenerative Dental Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Minoru
M
Sanda
Department of Oral Implantology and Regenerative Dental Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Makoto
M
Shiota
Department of Oral Implantology and Regenerative Dental Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Chiharu
C
Imakita
Department of Oral Surgery, Jichii Medical University Hospital, Tochigi, Japan.
Aoi
A
Sakuyama
Department of Oral Implantology and Regenerative Dental Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Shohei
S
Kasugai
Division of Oral and Dental Surgery, Department of Advanced Medicine, National Hospital for Geriatric Medicine, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Japan.
Yasunori
Y
Sumi
Dental Implants; Peri-Implantitis; Tomography, Optical Coherence
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