Postsurgical bone loss following root planing by ultrasonic and hard instruments

The ultrasonic scaler is currently used to plane the roots in periodontal surgery. The purpose of this study was to provide experimental evidence in support of, or against, the use of the ultrasonic scaler for root planning in periodontal surgical procedures. A notch was made through the enamel of each canine of nine adult cats. Full thickness mucoperiosteal flaps were elevated on each canine. Using hand curettes, soft tissue tags were removed from each tooth. At the maxillary right canines and mandibular left canines the roots were planed using the ultrasonic scaler, while at the maxillary left canines and mandibular right canines the roots were planed using hand curettes. A caliper was used to measure the distance from the notch to the crest of the alveolar process at each tooth. The mucoperiosteal flaps were repositioned and secured with cyanoacrylate cement. Three months postoperatively all 36 sites were reoperated and the distance from the notch of each canine to the crest of its alveolar process was measured using the caliper. The same caliper was used for all sites and the same investigator made all the measurements. Analysis of the results showed that all canines lost alveolar bone as a result of the surgical procedure, however, there was no statistical significance between the amount of bone lost on the canines where root planing was carried out by the ultrasonic scaler and the canines where the roots were planed with hand curettes. These findings support the use of the ultrasonic scaler for the planing of roots following elevation of mucoperisteal flaps and confirm its value in the practice of periodontal surgical procedures.