Radiographic and visual assessment of alveolar pathology of first molars in dry skulls

There are many reports in the literature relating to the dental pathology of ancient peoples. In most instances only visual observations of alveolar lesions have been made, precluding assessment of covert dental lesions. The present paper was undertaken to compare the incidence of alveolar dental lesions determined by both visual and radiographic methods in a group of Australian aboriginal skulls. First molars of the right side were used for the comparison: approximately ten percent more lesions were found by the radiographic method. The data demonstrated the limitation of either technique alone. The strong association between pulp exposure and furcal, angular, and apical lesions suggests that pulpal lesions provoke periodontal changes that have traditionally been assigned to a gingival etiology. The location of the lesions within the periodontium would appear to be determined by the location of the pulpal pathology and the pathways through dentin between that location and the periodontal ligament.