December 2008

By means of panoramic radiography (PR), the frequency and location of interproximal infrabony defects (IPIDs), their relationship with age, gender and remaining teeth were studied in 416 individuals seeking dental care. The presence/absence of IPIDs and the defect depths were evaluated on mesial and distal surfaces of a total of 8,964 teeth. One or more infrabony defects were recorded on 23% of the PRs (96 individuals, 152 IPIDs). The frequency of infrabony defects ≤ 3 mm, 3-5 mm and ≥5 mm was 12.5%, 9.6% and 3.6% respectively. The number of infrabony defects ≥ 5 mm was significantly lower than infrabony defects in ≤3 mm and 3-5 mm groups (p<0.05). The difference between the frequency of IPIDs among two genders was non-significant (20.6% for females, 26.8% for males). The IPIDs were most prevalent in the oldest group (>50 years), which also presented with significantly more missing teeth (p<0.05). The most frequent locations for IPIDs were maxillary and mandibulary molar teeth. Key words: dental radiology, interproximal infrabony defects, linear measurements, periodontology