The Periotest in traumatology. Part II. The Periotest as a special test for assessing the periodontal status of teeth in children that have suffered trauma.

The research was carried out on the upper permanent incisor teeth of 101 children aged 8-12 years attending the trauma clinic at the University Dental Hospital, Manchester, UK. The double blind, cross-over study involved Periotest readings being taken by one examiner and traditional special tests being carried out by another examiner. The traditional special tests chosen were mobility testing, percussion sounds and radiographs. The Periotest readings and special tests were then repeated at the child's recall appointment. The results revealed that there was a significant difference (P < 0.001) between the number of abnormalities detected by the Periotest and those detected by the traditional special tests. There was also found to be a significant difference (P < 0.001) in the detection of undesirable sequelae between the Periotest and the traditional special tests.