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In vivo scaling and root planing forces.

The purpose of the present study was to assess the scaling and root planing forces exerted in vivo. Ten dentists and 10 dental hygienists scaled and root planed one aspect of an incisor in an adult patient with untreated advanced periodontitis. During scaling and root planing forces were recorded using a piezo-electric receiver, an electronic transducer, and an analogous writer. The forces were recorded in mA and converted into Newtons (N). The results showed that the mean scaling force applied by dentists was 5.70 N and ranged between 1.01 to 10.35 N. The corresponding values for dental hygienists were a mean of 5.38 N, and a range of 1.52 to 15.73 N. The root planing forces in dentists reached a mean of 4.62 N, and ranged between 0.86 to 8.88 N. For hygienists, these values were 4.58 N with a range of 1.56 to 10.59 N. Negative forces impacting on the periodontal soft tissues were also recorded. They were not present in all therapists, but consistently at work within specific therapists. During scaling these forces reached a mean of -0.40 N in dentists and -0.47 N in dental hygienists. During root planing, these forces were mean -0.59 N in dentists, and -0.81 N in hygienists. There were no statistically significant differences between scaling forces and root planing forces, nor between forces used by dentists and hygienists (P greater than 0.05). However, there were significant differences between the force levels of the individual therapists for all positive forces (P = 0.0001), and for negative forces during root planing (P = 0.0001). The technology and information provided by this investigation may enable studies evaluating clinical effectiveness of scaling and root planing doses.