Accuracy of assessing infrabony defects using a special digital filter for periodontal bone loss.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the accuracy of linear measurements of bone loss within infrabony defects on digitized radiographs after digital filtering particularly designed to image periodontal bone loss.


METHODS
Before surgery, 50 standardized radiographs of 50 infrabony defects were obtained. Intrasurgically the distances from the cementoenamel-junction (CEJ) to the alveolar crest (AC), from the CEJ to the bottom of the bony defect (BD), and the depth of the infrabony component (INFRA) were assessed. All radiographs were digitized and the distances CEJ-AC, CEJ-BD, and INFRA were measured on digitized but unchanged radiographs and after use of the filter.


RESULTS
There was a small overestimation of CEJ-AC (0.35-0.68 mm) and underestimation of CEJ-BD (0.84-1.12 mm) and INFRA (0.66-0.76 mm). Accuracy of measurement of the distance CEJ-AC was influenced by vertical angulation difference (P= 0.047) and the intrasurgical CEJ-AC (P= 0.003). Accuracy of CEJ-BD was influenced by intrasurgically assessed bone loss (P= 0.012). Accuracy of INFRA was influenced by individual patient, intrasurgically assessed INFRA (P< 0.001), and filter (P= 0.018).
Hörr
Torsten
T
Department of Conservative Dentistry, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
Kim
Ti-Sun
TS
Hassfeld
Stefan
S
Staehle
Hans Jörg
HJ
Klein
Filip
F
Eickholz
Peter
P
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D005374:Filtration / Q000295:instrumentation; D006801:Humans; D007432:Intraoperative Period; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019252:Radiography, Dental, Digital / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016037:Single-Blind Method