Radiographic diagnosis of periodontal disease progression.

This review covers papers on the use of radiographs to assist in the assessment of periodontal disease progression, choice of treatment, and evaluation of treatment outcome, both in practice and clinical research. It reviews the latest papers on radiographic prescription strategies, the average quality of radiographs in daily practice, the potential of new developments, and the clinical applications of digital subtraction. The review ends with some interesting reports on the effect of smoking on the periodontal tissues, the risk of periodontal disease progression to teeth with periapical pathology, remodeling characteristics after guided tissue regeneration, and the effect of implant placement on the periodontium of neighboring teeth, all of which include conventional radiographic evaluations as major parameters in the protocols. In general, there is a striking discrepancy between the quality of radiographs taken in daily practice and the valuable information that could be gained from properly applied radiographic procedures. Furthermore, improved education in this field is urgently needed to raise the quality of radiographic diagnosis to acceptable standards.