TITLE:
Gingival biotype: The probe test utility
AUTHORS:
Madline Cuny-Houchmand, Stéphane Renaudin, Mustapha Leroul, Lucie Planche, Laurent Le Guehennec, Assem Soueidan
KEYWORDS:
Probe; Gingival Biotype; Prevention; Classification
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Stomatology,
Vol.3 No.2,
May
14,
2013
ABSTRACT: Purpose: To evaluate the relevance of the probe test
in classifying the gingival biotype and to determine if differences exist
between maxillary and mandibular gingival biotypes in the same patient.
Materials and Methods: 53 subjects were included. The gingival thickness was
evaluated as thick or thin. This evaluation was based on the transparency of
the periodontal probe through the gingival margin while probing the sulcus. In
another hand, 124 clinicians were asked to identify the gingival biotype in the
same 53 subjects based on visual inspection on pictures. For each examiner,
the accuracy in identifying the gingival biotype was assessed using the
percentage of cases correctly identified. Results: the percentile of
agreement is greater than 70% in maxilla as well as in mandible. An imbalance
was observed on the maxillary pictures concerning the gingival biotype and on
the thin biotype between maxilla and mandible despite there being no
statistical difference (p probe results demonstrates a weak percentile of agreement of gingival biotypes between maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth (57%). Conclusion: The use of probe transparency
through the gingival margin is an accurate and simple method for gingival
biotype diagnosis to discriminate a thin gingival from a thick gingival.
Furthermore, individualizing the gingival biotype for each of the arches
appears to be a new outcome that needs further investigation.