Digital subtraction radiography in assessing bone changes in periodontal defects following guided tissue regeneration

19 patients with a total of 23 periodontal lesions were selected for the study. Following flap-elevation, an occlusive membrane (Gore Tex) adjusted to the size and shape of the lesion was applied. The membrane was removed 4-6 weeks later by a 2nd operation. Clinical attachment levels were measured and intraoral radiographs taken prior to surgery, and 6 and 12 months postoperatively. The root length and marginal bone level were measured on paper drawings of the teeth magnified (15x) from the conventional radiographs. The radiographs were digitized for analysis of the subtraction images between the preoperative and the 6- and 12-month postoperative images. Clinical attachment gain was seen in 78% of the teeth after 6 months and 70% after 12 months. Bone gain was recorded in 56% and 22% after 6 months and in 44% and 66% after 12 months by conventional and digital subtraction radiography, respectively. The bone level measurements on conventional radiographs differed significantly (p = 0.001) between the preoperative and 6-month postoperative, but not between the 6- and 12-month, (p = 0.29) conventional radiographs. There was no significant relationship between the clinical measurements and the assessments of bone changes on conventional radiographs (r = 0.28, p = 0.25), while a stronger relationship was observed between assessment of clinical attachment gain and assessment of bone changes on the subtraction images (r = 0.58, p = 0.01).