Scaling and root planing in shallow pockets

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A histological assessment of attachment level alterations following repeated scaling and root planing in periodontal sites with normal sulcus/pocket depth was performed. Two monkeys (Macaca cynomolgus) were used. During a period of 6 mo., scaling was carried out once every 2 wk at the buccal surfaces of premolars and molars on the right side of the jaws. The contralateral teeth served as untreated controls. Six mo. after the completion of treatment (1 yr after the start of the experiment), the animals were sacrificed, and histological sections of all test and control teeth were produced. In these sections, the distances between the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) and the apical extent of the junctional epithelium (JE) and between the JE and the alveolar bone crest (BC) were measured. Repeated scaling and planing resulted in an average loss of connective tissue attachment amounting to 0.39 mm and in a corresponding recession of the alveolar bone crest. The findings are discussed in relation to recent observations from clinical trials demonstrating loss of clinical attachment following repeated scaling and root planing in sites with shallow gingival pockets.