A computerized system to measure interproximal alveolar bone levels in epidemiologic, radiographic investigations. I....

The aims of the study were to adapt a computerized system to epidemiologic conditions, for rapid full-mouth measurements of alveolar bone levels from X5-magnified periapical radiographs and to analyze the variations in measurement due to different system components. Full-mouth measurements of interproximal alveolar bone height in percentage of root and tooth lengths were completed within an average time of 15 min per set of radiographs. An analysis of variance showed that the examiner variation in measurement of a linear scale distance was 0.02 mm. The measurement accuracy was different for different distances; each distance (d) measured with this system should therefore be calibrated with the equation Y = -0.007-0.014 (log3d-1.50), where Y is the estimate of measurement accuracy. The present computerized system enabled rapid recordings and demonstrated good measurement precision and accuracy; these are valuable features in epidemiologic investigations.