Periodontal bone loss in Chinese subjects with untreated early-onset and adult periodontitis: a cross-sectional study using digital scanning radiographic image analysis.

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the differences in radiographic alveolar bone loss (RABL) in Taiwanese subjects with early-onset periodontitis (EOP) and adult periodontitis (AP) using the digital scanning radiographic image analysis (DSRIA). A total of 4,262 teeth from 178 individuals (96 males and 82 females) were examined for RABL due to EOP and AP. The subjects with EOP and a comparison group with AP were identified from the Periodontal Clinic population (College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University). The following criteria were used to classify subjects with EOP and AP during the past 20 years. The RABL of teeth were calculated using a computer system equipped with Microstation 95 software, under 10 X magnification of the radiographs. Quantity assessment of RABL using the DSRIA showed that: (1) the means of RABL of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth in the EOP group were significant greater than those in the AP group when the two sample t-test was used. (2) The greatest values of mean RABL of affected sites in the EOP group occurred most commonly in the first molars and mandibular incisors, whereas, in the AP group, the greatest values of mean RABL of affected sites occurred most commonly in the first and second molars. (3) Molars had the greatest mean RABL followed by incisors, premolars and canines. (4) The mean RABL increased with increasing age. We conclude that the features of naturally progressing alveolar bone loss at the molar and incisor sites in untreated subjects with the EOP and AP revealed that the mean RABL in the EOP group was faster and greater than that in the AP group.