Abstract: Objective: To detect the peri-implant soft tissue with Florida probes,and to provide the clinical basis for choosing the appropriate clinical examination method,probing strength,and treatment of peri-implant soft tissue in the maintenance period. Methods: The common periodontal probes and Florida probes were used to examine the probing depth(PD) values in 62 patients who underwent implantation for more than 6 months for two times,and the contralateral teeth were natural teeth.The natural teeth and the implants were divided into inflammation group(n=32) and healthy group(n=30) according to whether the bleeding was probed.The coefficient of variation (CV) values of PD values of natural teeth and peri-implant soft tissues detected by two probes were compared. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in the PD values between natural teeth and implants of the patients measured by common periodontal probes in healthy and inflammation groups (P>0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in the PD values between natural teeth and implants of the patients measured by Florida probes in healthy and inflammation groups (P>0.05).The CV value of PD value detected by Florida probes of the patients in healthy group was less than that detected by common periodontal probes (t=2.489,P=0.019); the CV value of PD value detected by Florida probes of the patients in inflammation group was less than that detected by common periodontal probe (t=2.238,P=0.033).The CV value of PD value of implants of the patients in inflammation group was higher than that in healthy group(Z=3.804,P<0.01;Z=2.913,P=0.004);the CV value of PD value of nature teeth of the patients in two groups had no significant differences(P>0.05). Conclusion: Both two probes have good reproducibility in probing the healthy and inflammatory sites of the natural teeth and implants.The Florida probes are more reproducible than the common periodontal probes in probing the healthy and inflammatory peri-implant soft tissues.

Key words: Florida probes, common periodontal probe, peri-implant tissue, probing depth