Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 2, 2025
Semi-Automated Planimetric Quantification of Dental Plaque Using an Intraoral Fluorescence Camera
Published on: January 27, 2023
Three-dimensional macroscopical quantification of plaque accumulation on implant-supported fixed complete dental
Ping-Yi Jia1, Qi Liu2, Jing-Wen Yang3
1Attending Periodontist, Department of the Fourth Clinical Division, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology & National Center of Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & National Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Digital Medical Devices & Beijing Key Laboratory of Digital Stomatology & Research Center of Engineering and Technology for Computerized Dentistry Ministry of Health & NMPA Key Laboratory for Dental Materials, Beijing, PR China.
Statement Of Problem:
Area calculation is the primary method for quantitatively analyzing accumulated plaque on the intaglio surfaces of implant-supported fixed complete dental prostheses (IFCDPs). However, the classic calculation method for stained dental plaque is based on two-dimensional (2D) photographs, which could mislead the three-dimensional (3D) representation of an object's actual morphology, especially when a surface is not flat.
Purpose:
This pilot in vitro study, used for methodological purposes, evaluated the repeatability and precision of a 3D area calculation method to analyze simulated accumulated biofilm on the intaglio surfaces of an IFCDP.
Material And Methods:
The titanium framework of an IFCDP with a smooth intaglio surface was prepared with 8 milled sites and scanned by microcomputed tomography. Out of these, 4 sites were cubic (set sides lengths=1, 2, 3, and 4 mm), and 4 sites were hemispherical (set diameters=1, 2, 3, and 4 mm). A green-colored aerosol was sprayed onto the carved-out intaglio sites. The framework intaglio surface was 3D-scanned (n=10) and 2D-photographed (n=10) at 10 different photo angles. Two raters twice measured the 3D and 2D data from the carved-out sites' green-colored area one week apart. Intraobserver repeatability and interobserver reliability were evaluated with an independent t test. The deviation between the measurements and the microtomography values was calculated. Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) evaluated the repeatability of multiple measurements. A standard level of significance was set at α=.05.
Results:
The differences between the 2D photographs and the microtomography values were statistically significant (P<.001), whereas the differences between the 3D scans and the microtomography values were not significant (P=.063). The overall differences between the microtomography values and the 3D measurements were smaller (2.15 ±2.30 mm2 vs. 18.91 ±22.78 mm2, P=.055) than the differences between the microtomography values and the 2D measurements. The percentage differences between the microtomography values and the 3D measurements were significantly smaller (10.41 ±8.33% vs. 65.66 ±19.22%, P<.001) than the microtomography differences values with the 2D measurements. The measurement differences between the microtomography value and the 3D measured hemispherical site data were significantly smaller than the measurement differences between the microtomography values and the 3D measured cubical site data (P=.026). The 2D method had "poor" repeatability among the 10 different shot angles (r=0.391, P<.001), whereas the 3D method had "good" repeatability among the 10 scans (r=0.999, P<.001).
Conclusions:
An irregular intaglio surface of an IFCDP could accurately and repeatedly be recorded and analyzed by a 3D area calculation method. This color-matching assessment of the topological environment is expected to be adopted in future studies.
