Diagnostic application of intraoral ultrasonography to assess furcation involvement in mandibular first molars

Objectives: The objectives were to clarify if intraoral ultrasonography (USG) is: (1) more accurate than conventional periodontal examinations in detection of furcation involvement, and (2) comparable to conventional periodontal examinations in accurate horizontal classification of furcation involvement in comparison to cone beam computed tomography (CBCT).Methods: The buccal furcation in 61 lower first molars were evaluated with conventional periodontal examinations, intraoral USG and CBCT. The presence and classification of the horizontal depth of furcation involvement were defined clinically by assessment with a Nabers periodontal probe and a periapical radiograph with reference to the bone loss under the fornix. The horizontal depth of furcation involvement was measured in intraoral USG and CBCT images. Based on the measurements, presence diagnosis and horizontal classification were performed. Results from conventional periodontal examinationsand intraoral USG were compared with those from CBCT.Results: & kappa; value (& kappa;) for agreement of presence diagnosis of furcation involvement between intraoral USG and CBCT was 0.792, while agreement with conventional periodontal examinations was 0.225. Diagnostic accuracy of intraoral USG exhibited higher values (sensitivity: 98.3%, accuracy: 98.4 %) than conventional periodontal examinations (81.4% and 81.9 %). Weighted & kappa; statistics showed substantial agreement in the classification between intraoral USG and CBCT (& kappa; = 0.674). High agreement (ICC: 0.914) for the measurement of horizontal depth of furcation involvement was found between intraoral USG and CBCT.Conclusions: Intraoral USG may be a reliable diagnostic tool for assessment of furcation involvement of mandibular molars with a similar performance to CBCT, but without ionizing radiation.

Automated summary

The study aimed to compare the accuracy of intraoral ultrasonography (USG) and conventional periodontal examinations in detection and classification of furcation involvement, and to compare it with cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). The results showed that intraoral USG had a similar performance to CBCT in diagnosing and classifying furcation involvement, without ionizing radiation.