Probing velocity: Novel approach for assessment of inflamed periodontal attachment The aim of this study was to look at the relationship between probing velocity, the distance traversed by the probe tip/amount of time into the periodontal pocket, and the clinical parameters of inflammation after nonsurgical treatment of periodontitis.
Researchers took 29 subjects with different severity of inflammation of marginal gingiva. They were scaled and root planed and given oral hygiene instructions. The control group was treated four weeks after data collection. The research team took six index teeth and looked at GI, BI, PI, GCF, PD, AL, and probing velocity using the Toronto automated periodontal probe (TAP), which replicates probing angulation within a five-degree tilt of roll. Probing velocity is the stabilization point of the probe at the base of the pocket when displacement was less than 0.2 mm obtained empirically. A plateau was defined as a segment of the displacement plot in which there was a decrease of slope in excess of three standard deviations. Researchers associated this with the biophysical tonus of the dentogingival junction. Their results showed that sites with different pocket depths showed no difference in frequency of plateau. The probability of plateau formation was lower with increased GI. They saw a decrease in probability of plateau formation with higher GCF, but this was not statistically significant. The authors felt that probing velocity appears to be related to severity of inflammation and is an indicator of the tonus of the gingiva, and that the TAPP can detect gain of biophysical integrity at the dentogingival junction that is induced by nonsurgical therapy. [M.C.R.]
Tessier, J.-F., G. Kulkarni, R.P. Ellen, and C.A.G. McCulloch, J Periodont, 65:103, 1994