Reliability of some clinical parameters of evaluation in implant dentistry

Clinical tests that are commonly used to evaluate tissues surrounding natur al teeth are also used in implant dentistry. It is unclear if they are equa lly valid and reflect the condition of the bone surrounding an implant reli ably. This study evaluates the use of a plaque index, a gingiva index, the assessment of a probing depth and the Periotest value and relates the findi ngs to the image on a radiograph in 16 patients, involving 32 IMZ implants. All four clinical tests showed poor sensitivity and, in general, only fair specificity when observations from the image on the radiograph were interp reted as the 'golden standard' for the presence or absence of pathology adj acent to the implant. Frequently, based on any clinical parameter, disease was not diagnosed, while the radiograph did show pathological loss of bone at the bone-implant contact area. It is concluded that the aforementioned p arameters are unreliable and unfit for clinical evaluation in implant denti stry. Radiographs are needed to evaluate critical marginal bone changes sur rounding dental implants.