ABSTRACT
Purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in amount and architecture [pattern] of alveolar bone loss between patients with chronic and aggressive periodontitis assessed through panoramic radiographs. One hundred patients ranging in age from 15-58 years with at least one sextant with a basic periodontal examination [BPE] score of 4 were recruited with strict selection criteria for study. Each subject was given a basic periodontal examination score from 1-6 per full mouth. Panoramic radiograph was taken for each subject using the same standard. Alveolar bone loss was measured for each tooth from most apical defect point to the cementoenamel junction as a percent of a root length and the total alveolar bone loss percentage for each jaw were averaged. Results of this study showed that the mean age of patients with aggressive periodontitis was significantly smaller than that of chronic periodontitis patients [P<0.05]. Localized aggressive periodontits group had the smallest mean age [22.71+55.22 years]. Mean alveolar bone loss was significantly higher in patients with aggressive periodontitis than chronic periodontitis [P<0.05]. There was no statistically significant difference in male/female proportions for having aggressive disease [P>0.05]. Correlation between basic periodontal examination and alveolar bone loss was highly significant [r=0.98, P<0.01]. The study concluded that patients with aggressive periodontitis had significantly higher alveolar bone loss and attachment loss in early age of life. Basic periodontal examination was significantly correlated with panoramic alveolar bone loss