Reliability of some clinical parameters in implant dentistry

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates if clinical tests that are commonly used to evaluate tissues surrounding natural teeth are equally valid in clinical evaluation of dental implants. DESIGN: A retrospective clinical study. SETTING: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Prosthodontics and Special Dental Care of the University of Utrecht. METHOD: The use of a plaque index, a gingival index, probing depth measurements and the Periotest was evaluated by relating the findings to the image on a radiograph in 16 patients, involving 32 IMZ implants. RESULTS: The four clinical tests show poor sensitivity and in general only fair specificity. CONCLUSION: The parameters are unreliable and unfit for clinical evaluation in implant dentistry during regular recall visits. Radiographs are needed to evaluate the condition of a dental implant and to detect critical marginal bone changes surrounding dental implants at an early stage.