Abstract
Subtle changes in marginal alveolar bone level can be demonstrated using digital subtraction of sequential radiographs. We aimed to evaluate the practical application of geometrically corrected digital subtraction in a clinical study of alveolar bone response to a drug previously shown to inhibit alveolar bone loss. Selected periapical radiographs were acquired with projective standardization of patients with clinical marginal alveolar bone loss. Subsequently, patients received a 6-month regimen of subantimicrobial doxycycline or placebo. Standardized radiographs of the same alveolar regions were acquired after 3 and 6 months, and baseline radiographs were subtracted from these images. Blinded digital subtraction analysis indicated various levels of marginal bone gain in 3 of the 6 patients in the experimental group, whereas in 3 of the 5 placebo patients the method showed bone loss. These results suggest that geometrically corrected digital subtraction possibly agrees with clinical predictors of bone loss severity.
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