A correlative study of the clinical and radiographic signs of periodontal disease in dogs.

Twenty-four dogs admitted for routine teeth cleaning were selected arbitrarily to undergo a periodontal examination and a dental radiographic examination before the dental procedure. Data pertaining to the physical and radiographic manifestations of periodontal disease of 783 teeth were collected. All dogs had lesions consistent with periodontal disease, ranging from mild gingivitis and minimal plaque accumulation to severely inflamed gingiva, exuberant calculus formation, and root exposure. Of the 783 teeth examined, 153 (20%) had a pocket depth greater than or equal to 4 mm and less than or equal to 9 mm. Data regarding these teeth were subjected to statistical analysis. The clinical signs of plaque, calculus, mobility, pocket depth, and furcation were positively associated with radiographic signs of periodonta disease. The association between grossly evident gingivitis and radiographic signs of periodontal disease was not significant. Conditional probability analysis was applied to determine confidence intervals for the probability of a radiographic sign of periodontal disease occurring given that a clinical sign of periodontal disease occurs.