Accuracy of periodontal probe visibility in the assessment of gingival thickness
Young‐Sung Kim, Ji-Sun Park, Young-Hun Jang, Jung-Hun Son, Wonkyung Kim, Young-Kyoo Lee, Su‐Hwan Kim
Abstract
PURPOSE: The present study was undertaken to examine whether periodontal probe visibility (PV) accurately reflects gingival thickness (GT) and to identify factors affecting PV using cluster and multivariate analyses. METHODS: The clinical characteristics of the maxillary central incisors (n=90 subjects) were examined. Clinical photographs, sex, PV, probing depth, gingival width, papilla height, GT as measured with an ultrasonic device, and the ratio of crown width to crown length were recorded. Multivariate analysis, using multinomial baseline-category logistic regression, was used to identify factors predictive of PV. Cluster analysis was used to identify gingival biotypes. RESULTS: =0.583). CONCLUSIONS: Periodontal PV was not associated with GT as measured directly using an ultrasonic device. Sex was a highly significant predictor of periodontal PV. GT was found to be correlated with morphological characteristics of the periodontium.