Utility of radiographic crestal lamina aura for predicting periodontitis disease activity
The purpose of this clinical study was to evaluate the relationship between radiographic crestal lamina aura and periodontal disease activity. Fifty-one patients were longitudinally studied. The presence or absence of crestal lamina aura at 1,809 sites was scored at baseline of a 36-month maintenance care period. Semiannual clinical evaluations were carried out by two separate examiners for each patient, with disease recurrence defined as sites revealing a > 3 mm increase in probing depth from baseline, or a > 2 mm loss of relative attachment level from an occlusal reference stent. Disease recurrence during the 36-month period was detected in 45.1 % of the patients. Absence of detectable baseline lamina aura yielded high sensitivity (87-100%), low specificity (17%), and low positive predictive value (0.8-3.2%) for localized periodontitis recurrence. In contrast, no sites exhibiting an intact baseline crestal lamina aura demonstrated periodontitis recurrence up to 24 months from baseline. Presence of crestal lamina aura was positively associated with periodontal stability.
The authors concluded that evaluation of crestal lamina aura is a valuable method by which to assess periodontal stability in interproximal sites in patients in maintenance care programs. [M.O.]
Rams,T.E., M.A. Listgarten, and J. Slots, J Clin Periodont, 21:571, 1994