The diagnostic capability of intraoral ultrasound imaging in periodontium assessment: a systematic review

Objective

To systematically review the diagnostic applications of ultrasound (US) imaging to evaluate periodontal tissues in humans.

Materials and Methods

The search was conducted on Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, and PubMed up to April 3, 2023. The studies included were exclusively human studies that assessed the periodontium with US imaging (b-mode). Outcomes measured included alveolar bone level, alveolar bone thickness, gingival thickness, and blood flow quantification. References were imported to Covidence. Two reviewers conducted phases 1 and 2. The JBI risk assessment tool for cross-sectional studies was used. Extracted data included the transducer and measurements used and the study's outcomes.

Results

The search yielded 4892 studies after removing duplicates. From these, 25 studies were included and selected for extraction. Included studies retrieved outcomes from US examinations of the periodontal tissues. From the selected studies, 15 used US on natural teeth, 4 used US on implants, 2 used US on edentulous ridges, and 4 used Doppler US to evaluate the blood flow.

Conclusion

The results of the present systematic review suggest that US might be a feasible and valuable diagnostic tool for the periodontium, with the potential to complement shortfalls of current radiographic technologies.