Assessment of the relationship between labial gingival thickness and the underlying bone thickness in maxillary anterior teeth by two digital techniques

Linhong Wang,Yunxiao Luo,Jianping Chen,Yan Ruan,Fan Yang

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-04721-7

Linhong Wang, Yunxiao Luo + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-04721-7

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Abstract

This study aimed to noninvasively assess the relationship between the labial gingival thickness (GT) and the underlying bone thickness (BT) of maxillary anterior teeth by two digital techniques. A total of 30 periodontally healthy participants with 172 maxillary anterior teeth were enrolled. GT and BT were measured at 2, 4 and 6 mm apical to the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) by two digital techniques: M1—cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and M2—digital intraoral scanning (DIS) combined with CBCT. The Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated to determine the correlation between GT and BT. A significant negative correlation was identified between GT and BT at 2 mm apical to the CEJ for central incisors (CI), lateral incisors (LI), and canines (CA) both by M1 and M2, while a weak negative correlation at 4 mm apical to the CEJ was observed by M1 for CA. No significant correlation was found at other sites by both M1 and M2. The labial BT was < 1 mm in most cases (85% of CI; 97% of LI; and 90% of CA). Within the limitation of this study, it was concluded that GT and BT seemed to be negatively correlated at 2 mm apical to the CEJ. Therefore, caution is warranted when implant restoration at the esthetic area of the anterior teeth.

Highlights

This study aimed to noninvasively assess the relationship between the labial gingival thickness (GT) and the underlying bone thickness (BT) of maxillary anterior teeth by two digital techniques
The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlation between the thickness of the gingiva and the underlying bone in the esthetic area of maxillary anterior teeth through two digital techniques: cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) (M1) and digital intraoral scanning (DIS) combined with CBCT data (M2) to provide a theoretical basis for the clinical selection of esthetic restoration and implant treatment in clinical practice
Two sets of recordings for Method 1 (M1) and Method 2 (M2) measurements of GT and BT were performed by the same examiner at an interval of 24 h to evaluate intra-examiner reliability

Summary

Introduction

This study aimed to noninvasively assess the relationship between the labial gingival thickness (GT) and the underlying bone thickness (BT) of maxillary anterior teeth by two digital techniques. Methods for measuring GT include invasive ones such as direct puncture, which requires local a nesthesia[13], and non-invasive methods such as ultrasonic measurement Their accuracies are limited for determining GT in some. The cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is an objective approach for determining the thickness of soft and hard tissues[15], and some reports have indicated that CBCT has high precision in measuring B T16,17. DIS images with more accurate outlines and greater resolution than CBCT were applied to measure the volume of periodontal t issues[22] and exhibited higher precision and r eliability[23]. Whether the measurement of GT and BT on the superimposed data generated by CBCT and DIS will be more precise remains to be elucidated

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