The most common disease in small animals older than five years is periodontal disease. Treatment may include supragingival and subgingival scaling, periodontal surgery, tooth resection, or total extraction. Radiography plays an important role in determining the extent of periodontal disease and therapy. Radiographs are evaluated for alveolar bone changes, interdental bone height, presence of the lamina dura, trabecular patterns, periodontal ligament space, and severity of bone loss.
Radiographs show two dimensional representation of three dimensional structures.
At times, radiographs may not adequately show the severity of disease. Early destructive bone lesions sometimes are not radiographically observable. Buccal and lingual alveolar bone are particularly difficult to evaluate because of superimposition and summation. In addition to the radiographic findings, the clinician should rely on clinical examination, including sulcular depths, tooth mobility, and appearance of the attached gingiva in order to decide on the diagnosis and treatment plan. Normal radiographic anatomy Normal alveolar bone support around maxillary incisors Normal, healthy alveolar bone has characteristic appearance on radiographs.