Comparison of Digital and Conventional Radiography In Evaluating Horizontal Alveolar Bone Loss

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of digital and
conventional radiographic methods in diagnosis of horizontal alveolar bone loss.
Materials and Methods: In this diagnostic study 48 radiographs of 104 teeth with periodontal
disease that exhibited horizontal alveolar bone loss were obtained by digital and conventional
radiography technique in Zahedan faculty of dentistry in 2007. The depth of intrabony defects was
determined by linear measurement analysis of radiovisiography (RVG) and coolis. The distance
from cemento enamel junction (CEJ) to the alveolar crest was assessed intra-surgically. The
comparison between RVG measurement, conventional radiographic measurements and intrasurgical
estimates were performed using paired t-test and P<0.05 was considered statistically
significant.
Results: The distance between CEJ and alveolar crest by RVG method was 3.53±1.47 mm while it
was 3.56±1.58 mm by intrasurgical method and 2.9±1.47 by conventional radiography. No
statistically significant difference was seen between digital radiographic and intra-surgical
measurements (P=0.42). The difference between digital and conventional radiographic
measurements was statistically significant (p=0.001).
Conclusion: This study showed that the result of digital radiographic measurement was closer to
the intra-surgical gold standard. Digital radiographic method was more sensitive than
conventional radiography to detect horizontal alveolar bone loss. That’s why we recommend digital
imaging as a more useful method than conventional radiography for evaluating the horizontal
alveolar bone loss.