A comparison of methods to assess marginal bone height around endosseous implants.

3 methods of measurements of marginal bone level on intra-oral radiographs of endosseous implants are described: measurements with a computerized image analysis system, with a magnifying-glass and with a digital sliding gauge. The accuracy of each of these methods was investigated and compared. The intra- and inter-observer error analysis showed that determining the precise bone height on the image is responsible for a large standard deviation for each method. It is concluded that measurements with a digital sliding gauge are preferable because it is easy to put into practice, and in addition, accuracy matches the accuracy of the other methods.