2004 Volume 46 Issue 4 Pages 253-258
Probing depth (PD) and attachment level (AL) are often used as clinical indices. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical relevance of PD and AL to identify periodontal conditions (e.g., active or non-active) in patients. One hundred and ninety-three periodontal patients (Mean age ; 61.7 years old, 77 males and 116 females) participated in this study. They were selected as those who had exhibited no clinical signs of recurrent periodontitis for at least 6 months prior to the study. PD and AL assessed at 6 sites around each tooth were analyzed for the relationship with age, gender, bleeding on probing (BOP) and tooth mobility. The mean PD and AL per person were 1.89 mm and 2.75 mm, respectively. The AL per person increased significantly according to age (r=0.36, p < 0.001), whereas no significant correlation was observed between the mean PD and age. There were significant differences of the mean PD and AL (p < 0.001) between the BOP-positive and -negative teeth. A multiple linear regression analysis showed that AL had a stronger effect on degrees of tooth mobility than PD. These results indicate that PD and AL reflect the activity and severity of periodontal disease, respectively. Periodontal condition in maintenance patients should be evaluated based on the individual two aspects, activity (PD) and severity (AL) of periodontitis.
