Bone SPECT with quantitation for the diagnosis of periodontitis

Abstract

Methods: A radionuclide method based on single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for the diagnosis of periodontitis is presented. Nineteen consecutive patients, 13 with periodontitis and a control group of 6 healthy subjects, were studied. Technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate was used as a bone-seeking radiopharmaceutical. The tomographic slices corresponding to the alveolar crest of the mandible and the maxilla were used for reconstruction. The upper and the lower jaws were divided into segments and the mineral metabolism was assessed semiquantitatively.
Results: Our preliminary results suggest that the method may play a role in detecting the regions of the alveolar bone affected by the periodontal disease and in the assessment of the activity of the pathological process.