Effect of Root Planing on Surface Topography.

In a clinical trial of 19 patients, 44 single-rooted teeth will be randomly assigned to one of four groups for: 1) no treatment, 2) manual root planing with curettes; 3) root planing with piezoelectric ultrasonic scraper [PU]; or 4) root planing with vertically oscillating ultrasonic device [VOU]. Post-treatment, the teeth will be extracted and their topography analyzed in 124 observations with white light confocal microscopy, measuring the roughness parameters Rp, Rv, Rt, Ra, Rq, Rku, and Rsk.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients undergoing programmed tooth extraction for chronic advanced periodontitis.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with no advanced periodontitis or patients that refused the treatment.