Significance of probing force for evaluation of healing following periodontal therapy.

The present report compares pre- and postoperative probing pocket depths and probing attachment levels in deep pockets treated non-surgically as well as surgically using probing forces at 0.25 N, 0.50 N and 0.75 N. The results demonstrated that the recorded mean pre- and postoperative probing depths were deeper with increasing probing force. In deep preoperative pockets, the difference amounted to as much as 2.0 mm comparing measurements at 0.25 N and 0.75 N. The use of 0.25 N for evaluation of therapy showed less mean pocket reduction and probing attachment gain than the use of 0.50 N or 0.75 N. Selection of a higher probing force before therapy (i.e. 0.75 N) and a lower force after therapy (i.e. 0.25 N) resulted in increased values for pocket reduction and probing attachment gain compared to use of the same probing force for both pre- and postoperative recordings. The findings emphasize the significance of using a known and standardized probing force for evaluation of results following periodontal therapy.