The identification of periodontal attachment loss from clinical measurements

Clinical readings of pocket depth and loss of periodontal attachment were recorded on the approximal sites of 21 teeth scheduled for extraction. Corresponding laboratory measurements of pocket depth and loss of periodontal attachment were made on the teeth after extraction. Clinical measurements were within 1mm of their corresponding laboratory values on 95% of occasions. Clinical readings of loss of periodontal attachment of 0 or 1mm showed poor agreement with corresponding laboratory measurements. It was concluded that the presence of loss of periodontal attachment can only be reliably identified where a clinical reading of 2mm or greater is recorded.