The significance of age, proximal caries, gingival inflammation, probing depths and the loss of lamina dura in the diagnosis of alveolar bone loss in the primary molars.

This study examined the significance of age and clinical factors on the diagnosis of alveolar bone loss (ABL) as evidenced by increased cementoenamel junction (CEJ)--alveolar bone crest (ABC) distances. The CEJ-ABC for the first and second primary molars were 0.97 +/- 0.3 mm and 0.78 +/- 0.3 mm, respectively. Age correlated significantly with the means CEJ-ABC per patient and second primary molars. Correlations between probing depths and CEJ-ABC were not significant. Analysis of variance indicated significant differences between CEJ-ABC grouped by presence/absence of proximal contact, presence/absence of lamina dura and proximal contact, presence/absence of lamina dura and proximal caries severity (PCS). Differences in the CEJ-ABC grouped by gender and gingival index (GI) were not significant. When considering the effect of age PCS or GI when controlling for the other factors (Multiple regression analysis) age and PCS had a significant effect on the CEJ-ABC. Proximal contact loss or lack of lamina dura may relate to ABL in the primary molars.