Comparison Of Clinical Use Between The TPS Probe And The Conventional Periodontal Probe

Periodontal probe is one of the most important tools for the diagnosis of periodontal diseases. But many factors can affect the result, and the type of the probe and the probing force are the major factors. So some new probes appear which can supply constant pressure during probing. Vivacare TPS probe is a kind of pressure-sensitive periodontal probe controlling the force at the level of 0.20N. And the tip can be replaced, thus avoiding cross-infection. TPS probe has been used clinically in Europe, but there are no assessments and study reports about this kind of probe in China. So the purpose of this study was to provide evidence . for the clinical use of the TPS probe by comparing the accuracy, reproducibility and patient comfort between the TPS probe and the conventional probe (Hu-Friedy probe).Firstly, in the comparison of accuracy, 66 sites of 11 teeth in 10 patients were measured with the TPS probe and the conventional probe from the points marked with a bur prior to extraction. After extraction, attachment levels of periodontal fibers were stained with mercuric bromophenol blue (Hg BPB), then measured from the same points with a stereomicroscope. Secondly, a comparison investigation of reproducibility and patient comfort with these 2 probes wasundertaken in 10 patients . Duplicate probing measurements were taken by 2 examiners in every patient on 3 index teeth, 1 incisor, 1 premolar and 1 molar at 6 sites per tooth. The measurements were repeated 1 week later. Then the patients rated comfort using a visual analog scale (VAS).The results were indicated as follows: ? The correlations between the measurements with both probes and the microscopical measurements were high. And the conventional probe measured significantly beyond the microscopically assessed attachment level (P<0.05), while the TPS probe did not deviate significantly from the microscopic values (P>0.05). (2) The TPS probe showed higher reproducibility, with a correlation coefficient of 0.754, comparing to the conventional probe with a correlation coefficient of 0.727. And the TPS probe was reported to be more comfortable for patients than the conventional probe.From the results we can conclude that both the TPS probe and the conventional probe showed high measurement accuracy > reproducibility and comfort. While the TPS probe was a little more credible than the conventional probe, suggesting that it may hold an advantage in longitudinal studies.