Intraoral Doppler sonography in edentulous patients

In edentulous patients being treated with complete dentures, alveolar ridge integrity is a long-term concern. Loss or resorption of the alveolar ridge can result in denture failure and hence its evaluation assumes importance. The microvasculature of the primary denture-supporting structures may serve as an indirect predictor of ridge resorption, and can be assessed using Doppler studies. Traditionally, Doppler studies with laser light (laser Doppler velocimetry) have been used to assess the oral vasculature. However, these methods possess several disadvantages. The other methods used are Doppler studies with ultrasound (color Doppler sonography). The main challenge in these methods is the delivery of ultrasound within the mouth using a small probe. This is a technically challenging procedure, and few operators resort to it. To the best of our knowledge, no publications on intraoral Doppler ultrasound exist. In this article, we outline how we have adopted a commercially available intraoperative hockey stick transducer to evaluate the microvasculature of the primary denture-supporting structures. We describe our experience and outline a protocol that may be followed to perform this assessment in edentulous patients.