Assessment of topography of the interdental papilla by ultrasound

Abstract

Background: The length of the papilla is usually measured by bone probing under local anesthesia, might cause discomfort to the patients and possibly damage the delicate gingival unit. The purpose of this study was performed to assess the topography of the interdental papilla in different age groups by ultrasound. Materials and Methods: A total of 90 subjects in the age group of 15-40 years were randomly selected. In this study, the measurement of length, width and thickness of the interdental papilla of maxillary and mandibular central incisors were measured by ultrasound. Results: The length of the interdental papilla in maxillary and mandibular central incisors in all the three groups was found to statistically nonsignificant. The width and thickness of the interdental papilla in between maxillary central incisors was found to be more than mandibular interdental papilla. Analysis of variance shows that difference in length and width of interdental papilla in maxillary and mandibular central incisors in the three groups was statistically nonsignificant and the difference in thickness of interdental papilla in maxillary central incisors in the three groups was statistically significant and in mandibular central incisors was not significant. Conclusion: The finding of this study indicates that the length, width and thickness of the interdental papilla does not change with age. Ultrasound procedure is a promising and accurate method for the determination of the interdental papilla noninvasively, reproducibly and avoid radiation hazards.