82 © 2024 International Journal of Preventive and Clinical Dental Research | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow Anil Melath 1 , Arjun Machingal Raveendran 2 , Deepith Kelotte 3 , Desmin Jaison 4 , V. Dharshika 4 1 Professor and Head of the Department, 2 Reader, 3 Third-Year Post-Graduate Resident, 4 Final Year BDS Student, Department of Periodontics, Mahe Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Puducherry, India Address for correspondence: Dr. Deepith Kelotte, Department of Periodontics, Mahe Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Mahe, Puducherry - 673 310, India. E-mail: deepithchdk@gmail.com Review Article ABSTRACT The presence of tooth mobility is frequently observed as a typical consequence and potential exacerbating factor for periodontal disease. The successful handling of this issue significantly impacts the results of periodontal therapy. To ensure the effective clinical management of tooth mobility, it is imperative to possess a precisely evaluating tooth mobility indices. This article aims at different indices that are done and evaluates their respective constraints. Keywords: Indices, measurements, periodontal disease, tooth mobility INTRODUCTION The teeth exhibit a level of mobility due to their suspension in the jaw bone by a network of collagenous fibers, rather than being rigidly anchored. This aimed to study different types of tooth mobility indices. This provides valuable insights into the significance of tooth mobility in the response to periodontal therapy, thus potentially influencing clinical decisions regarding occlusal therapy as part of periodontics. This is to evaluate the relationship between tooth mobility, initial disease severity, and response to therapy in periodontal treatment using various surgical procedures, and data from all treatment modalities were pooled for analysis. Several methods have been developed to measure tooth movement and differentiate between normal and pathological tooth mobility. One widely used clinical method, described by Miller, involves holding the tooth firmly between two instruments and assessing its mobility on a scale from 0 to 3. A score of 0 indicates no detectable movement, while scores of 1–3 represent increasing degrees of mobility. However, this method has limitations in terms of discrimination and subjectivity. [1] Parfitt introduced an electronic instrument to measure tooth movement in an axial direction. The instrument, attached to the posterior teeth with impression compound, utilized transducers and provided accurate measurements of axial tooth movement and the applied force. While effective, this method is complex and time-consuming, making it impractical for clinical trials. [1] Picton developed a method using resistance-wire strain gauges to assess axial tooth movement relative to neighboring teeth. Force was applied to the test tooth with a rod fixed on an Impression tray. The method yielded valuable data on tooth movement, though some in vitro variation was observed, possibly due to biological factors. [1] HISTORY OF INDICES In the early 20 th century, various methods were employed to measure tooth mobility, each with its own set of limitations and challenges. Elbrecht, in 1939, [2] utilized a large dial indicator fixed on a tripod in front of the patient’s mouth to measure bucco-lingual crown movement resulting from digital pressure. However, head movement introduced inaccuracies, Tooth mobility index This is an open access journal, and arcles are distributed under the terms of the Creave Commons Aribuon-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creaons are licensed under the idencal terms. For reprints contact: WKHLRPMedknow_reprints@wolterskluwer.com How to cite this article: Melath A, Raveendran AM, Kelotte D, Jaison D, Dharshika V. Tooth mobility index. Int J Prev Clin Dent Res 2023;10:82-5. Access this article online Website: www.ijpcdr.org Quick Response Code DOI: 10.4103/ijpcdr.ijpcdr_23_23 Date of Submission: 16 November 2023, Date of Acceptance: 12 January 2024, Date of Web Publication: 05 March 2024 Downloaded from http://journals.lww.com/inpc by BhDMf5ePHKav1zEoum1tQfN4a+kJLhEZgbsIHo4XMi0hCywCX1AW nYQp/IlQrHD3i3D0OdRyi7TvSFl4Cf3VC1y0abggQZXdtwnfKZBYtws= on 06/02/2024