Sonography of periimplant buccal bone defects in periodontitis patients: A pilot study.

Objectives: The degree of marginal bone loss at buccal periimplant sites may now be measured noninvasively using sonography. The purpose of the present study was to assess the reproducibility and validity of linear measurements of periimplant buccal bone loss on sonographic images.

Study Design: In 25 patients with 29 buccal bone defects in the mandibular anterior region, the vertical distance between the upper thread of the implant and the most apical level of the marginal bone was evaluated sonographically by using a linear (B-scan) 12.5-MHz small-part transducer, and surgically by using a calibrated periodontal probe. For each subject, measurements were taken in 2 test settings, on the day of periodontal reevaluation ("test re-test"), and 2 weeks after periodontal re-evaluation on the day of periodontal surgery ("sonography versus surgery"). Statistical analysis consisted of univariate analysis of variance for repeated measurements. Data were analyzed for reliability by using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the method error (ME).

Results: For the sonographic measurements, there was a significant "session"/"test setting"/"bone loss level" interaction (P = .024). Analysis of simple session-within-level effects revealed a significant difference between the measurements for advanced bone loss levels at the "sonography versus surgery" setting (P = .037). Measurements made at moderate bone loss levels were the most reliable (ICC = 0.76 to 0.81; ME = 4.2% to 6.6%).

Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that sonography may be a reliable and valid method for assessment of marginal bone loss at buccal periimplant sites. The difference in defect assessment ability depends on defect depth.