The Evaluation of the Reliability of Periotest for Implant Stability Measurements: An In Vitro Study

Periotest (Medizintechnik Gulden, Modautal, Germany) is a widely accepted implant stability measurement method, although the reliability is not well known. The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate the reliability of the Periotest in implant stability measurements. Thirty implants were placed in 3 cow ribs. The stability of each implant was measured by insertion torque, resonance frequency analyses, and Periotest and then compared. The Periotest values (PTVs) were measured by 4 different examiners. The measurements were repeated twice in both the buccal and mesial directions, for each implant at 2-hour intervals and the intra- and interobserver reliability of Periotest was measured. Results showed that the intraobserver reliability of the Periotest was excellent for the buccal PTVs but fair to poor for the mesial PTVs. The interobserver reliability of the Periotest was excellent for the buccal PTVs but poor for the mesial PTVs. No significance was found between the PTVs and IT values (P = .803) and PTVs and ISQ values, whereas a 47.1% significant correlation was detected between the IT values and ISQ values (P = .009). The present study indicates that only Periotest measurements from buccal result in excellent intra- and interobserver reliability for the quantification of the implant stability.