Abstract
This study aimed to compare the accuracy and reliability of digital versus conventional clinical measurements of the width of keratinized tissue. To this end, the keratinized tissue width was measured at 110 tooth sites in 5 pig jaws. The measurements were made at each site using three-dimensional (3D) scanned images and a periodontal probe. The actual keratinized tissue width was subsequently measured on histologic slides prepared from the same sites, and differences between the histologic slides and the digital and clinical measurements were analyzed to determine their accuracy in two measurement rounds. Furthermore, intrarater and interrater reliabilities were evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Here we show that the mean differences (and lower/upper limits of agreement) between the histologic and the digital/clinical measurements were 0.10 mm (−1.34/1.54 mm) and 1.11 mm (−0.69/2.92 mm), respectively, in the first round of measurements (p < 0.01), and 0.04 mm (−1.52/1.59 mm) and 1.05 mm (−0.37/2.48 mm) in the second round of measurements (p < 0.01). Moreover, we found that the intrarater reliability was higher for the digital measurements (ICC = 0.97, confidence interval [CI] = 0.96–0.97) than for the clinical measurements (ICC = 0.87, CI = 0.86–0.89; p < 0.01). Taken together, our results demonstrate that digital measurements of the keratinized tissue width using 3D scanned images can replace conventional clinical measurements using a periodontal probe since they are more accurate and reliable.
Highlights
This study aimed to compare the accuracy and reliability of digital versus conventional clinical measurements of the width of keratinized tissue
The mucogingival junction could be clearly distinguished based on these histologic differences, from which the histologic keratinized tissue width was measured to the most-coronal point of the free gingiva
Digital measurements of the keratinized tissue width are more accurate than conventional measurements
Summary
This study aimed to compare the accuracy and reliability of digital versus conventional clinical measurements of the width of keratinized tissue. Our results demonstrate that digital measurements of the keratinized tissue width using 3D scanned images can replace conventional clinical measurements using a periodontal probe since they are more accurate and reliable. Considering the aforementioned limitations of periodontal probes and the utility of scanners in identifying tissue colors and contours, it can be hypothesized that digital scanners are useful for measuring the dimensions of the keratinized mucosa. The aim of the present study was to compare the accuracy and reliability of digital measurements of the keratinized tissue width based on the three-dimensional (3D) scanned data with conventional clinical measurements
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