Relationship between the depths of furcal defects and alveolar bone loss.

The depths of furcal defects (excluding through-and-through) and the distances between the cementoenamel junctions and alveolar bone crests were measured on 245 lingual surfaces and 235 buccal surfaces of 246 first and second molars, in 100 dry mandibles of South African Negroes. Analysis of the measurements shows that: (1) There is a high correlation between depths of furcal defects and the distances between cementoenamel junctions and alveolar bone crests in surfaces of all molars. (2) For the same degree of vertical bone loss, buccal furcal defects are deeper than lingual ones and buccal furcal defects on first molar teeth are deeper than those on second molar teeth (P less than 0.05). (3) There is no significant difference (P greater than 0.5) between the measurements on the right and left mandibular teeth.