In vivo assessment of periodontal structures and measurement of gingival sulcus with Optical Coherence Tomography: a pilot study

Abstract

There has been increasing interest on the development of clinically acceptable, more sensitive and specific methods for non-invasive diagnosis in Periodontics. In this pilot study, the performance of an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) system in imaging periodontal structures in humans was evaluated. Gingival sulcus depth measurements were obtained and compared with traditional probes. In total, 445 sites of 23 periodontally healthy individuals were measured by 3 instruments: North Carolina manual probe, Florida automated probe and OCT at 1325 nm. To obtain quantitative measurements from OCT images, the gingival refractive index was also determined. Discomfort/pain perception and the duration of examinations were compared among the instruments. The analysis of OCT images allowed the identification of relevant anatomic dental and periodontal regions. The average sulcus depth measured by OCT, 0.85 ± 0.27 mm and 0.87 ± 0.28 mm, was lower than the values obtained by manual and automated probing. Discomfort/pain were prevalent for traditional probes, which are invasive methods, than for the non-invasive OCT technique. OCT has the potential to be a reliable tool for in vivo periodontal tissues evaluation and for reproducible sulcus depth measurements in healthy sites. Further technological advances are required to reduce the procedure time and promote evaluation of posterior oral regions. Photonic assessment of periodontal tissue with OCT (top) in a clinical environment, showing tooth/gingiva features (bottom).

Optical coherence tomography as a method for quantitative skin evaluation in systemic sclerosis

“…One potential technique for quantifying the extent of cutaneous sclerosis in these patients is optical coherence tomography (OCT) 1 2. Recently, Abignano et al 3 suggested the use of OCT as a feasible and reliable technique to evaluate skin fibrosis in SSc.…”

Observation and determination of periodontal tissue profile using optical coherence tomography

“…Consequently, the refractive index of human gingiva was determined as 1.397 at 1330 nm and this value was used for the morphometrical analysis of OCT images in the present study. Recently, Fernandes et al reported a human gingival refractive index of 1.41 at 1325 nm.…”

A noninvasive imaging and measurement using optical coherence tomography angiography for the assessment of gingiva: An in vivo study

“…LDF can only detect net red blood cell movement in a small volume of tissue and cannot assess individual microvessels such as depth‐location, diameter, and flow ; on the other hand, OPS requires contact, sensitive to contact pressure, and does not have depth information of the vessels. In dentistry, current OCT techniques have not explored the functional vasculature of the gingiva, and mostly relied on the traditional technique of measuring gingival sulcus . To evaluate a complete picture of gingival inflammation, OCT and OCTA were combined for in vivo gingival imaging in this paper.…”

“…Its unique capability to provide high‐resolution three‐dimensional (3D) visualization of microcirculation networks has also gained significant interests in neuroimaging and dermatology applications . In the field of dentistry, the OCT application for oral soft tissue occurred about two decades ago , and the most notable recent work is in quantitative measurement of the gingiva sulcus using swept‐source OCT . However, there is a gap in the existing literature regarding the ability of OCT to delineate the fine microstructure of the gingiva, such as the rete ridges, and to visualize the gingival vasculature in vivo.…”