Abstract
This was a retrospective study involving 34 patients with a total of 117 implants at the mandibular posterior region, who underwent implant treatment at The Nippon Dental University Hospital and were followed up for 10 years using the paralleling technique and/or the panoramic radiograph. The measurement scores from the paralleling technique radiographs (D score) and the panoramic radiographs (P score) were obtained to determine peri-implant bone loss. These were examined separately for all cases, for cases in which the image was vague (V group), and for cases in which the image was sharp (N group). Regression analysis showed correlation between the D and P scores in all groups. To analyze the relationship between these scores in detail, Bland-Altman analysis was adopted. Bland-Altman analysis showed a fixed bias in the V group, in which the P score was much smaller than the D score (−0.43〜−0.32). On the other hand, only a slight fixed bias was observed in the N group, and the difference was considered negligible (−0.09〜−0.03). In conclusion, the panoramic radiograph is shown to be reliable for the diagnosis of peri-implant bone loss at the mandibular posterior region, unless the image of implants is indistinct.
