Changes on Gingival Tissue and Plaque Fluorescence During Induced Gingivitis

Abstract

Objectives: Changes of the gingival tissue and the plaque fluorescence changes were assessed during a phase of induced gingivitis and a phase of hygiene. Methods: Thirty subjects were recruited and divided into 2 groups: Healthy with a Modified Gingival Index (MGI) of <0.5 and Gingivitis with a MGI of >2 and > 4 bleeding sites. Both groups had a washout of 14 days and then at baseline were asked to refrain from oral hygiene for 21 days. At day 21, subjects had a prophylaxis and were instructed to brush their teeth for the next two weeks. Subjects were monitored at days 0, 2, 7, 14, 21, 35 using full-mouth intraoral Scans (TRIOS® 3Shape, DK), red fluorescence (RF) images and clinical examinations including gingival (MGI) and plaque assessments (Turesky modification of Quigley Hein). Remote scoring of MGI on the scanned images was also conducted. Results: MGI, plaque and RF values increased during 21 days of plaque accumulation and returned to Baseline values after 2 weeks recovery. There were significant differences (p<0.05) between the two groups for MGI and RF at all visits. There no significant differences (p>0.05) between groups for plaque assessments at any time point. There was a moderate correlation (rs=64, p<0.001) between RF at day 2 and RF at day 21. There was a moderate correlation (rs=0.5, p<0.01) between RF at day 2 and MGI at day 21. There was a good correlation (r=0.9, p<0.001) between MGI scored clinically and MGI assessed on TRIOS® scanned images. Conclusions: The digital images from the intraoral scans appeared to be reliable and accurate in comparison to the clinical evaluation. RF day 2 was a moderate indicator of inflammatory response during a period of no hygiene. This research was funded by the Colgate-Palmolive Company.