Sounding depth measurements: a method for evaluating various surgical techniques.

Abstract

Fourteen patients undergoing periodontal treatment for moderate to severe adult-type periodontitis were included in the study. Seven patients (a total of 210 sites) were treated with modified Widman flap surgery while the other 7 patients (the same number of sites) were treated with apically-positioned flap surgery. The 2 modalities were compared using sounding depth measurements before and immediately after surgery. The mean sounding depth decreased from 4.89 mm to 3.42 mm in the modified Widman flap group, compared to a drop from 4.77 mm to 2.46 mm in the apically-positioned flap group. Neither of these procedures resulted in the total eradication of all periodontal pockets. The final outcome of modified Widman flap surgery may, at times, result in zero sounding depth (placement of the flap at the crest of the bone); on the other hand, very often the flap was placed far supra-crestally in an intended apically-positioned flap procedure. This lack of consistency between intended and actual flap placement would suggest that studies which try to compare different treatment modalities using a flap approach should include sounding depth measurements immediately post-surgery. This is needed to assure that the intended procedure has actually been carried out.