The relationship between radiographic and clinical parameters in periodontal maintenance in class II furcation defects

Abstract

The goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between probing and radiographic parameters, and the reliability of repeated longitudinal periodontal probing measurements for early diagnosis of periodontal breakdown in class II furcation defects. Eighteen class II furcation defects in lower molars were included in this study. Standardized radiographs and clinical measurements, relative vertical clinical attachment level (CAL-v) and probing depth (PD) were obtained immediately before periodontal surgeries and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after surgery. A total of 72 pairs of radiographs were subtracted following correction for contrast and planar geometric discrepancies, and the bone loss/gain (in mm) was measured. There was no statistically significant correlation between CAL-v and bone height (BH) measurements. A statistically significant correlation for PD reduction at 24 months and BH increase at 18 months was found (r = 0.5, p < 0.05). These results suggest that clinical measurements and radiographic bone height reflect different features of periodontal destruction and periodontal healing, and repeated longitudinal measurements of vertical clinical attachment level are not reliable for early diagnosis of periodontal breakdown in class II furcation defects.

Two canine tooth supported overdenture with ready-made attachments (3 year prospective study)

“…But the more important interpretation is the absence of active chronic inflammation during the study period. Some authors considered CAL as a key element to represent and judge the health status of teeth/ abutments (43,61) , others suggested CAL strong relation to the tooth loss (62) , others considered that radiographic data is needed as a supplementary information to complement the probing data (63) and others reported concordance in radiographic and attachment level change found in 82% of the sites examined (64,65) .…”

The emerging role of maxillofacial radiology in the diagnosis and management of patients with complex periodontitis

“…Furcation involvement and accompanying bone loss associated with multirooted teeth, particularly maxillary first molars, present complex diagnostic challenges and can be addressed using various surgical therapeutic methods, depending on the degree of involvement and overall prognosis. These include selective root amputation, hemi‐ or tri‐sectioning and apical repositioning of gingival flaps, with or without tunnel preparations.…”