Nuclear Medicine Techniques for the Detection of Active Alveolar Bone Loss

¹ Department of Oral Diagnostic Systems and Biotechnology and Department of Periodontology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, 188 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115

The use of bone-seeking radiopharmaceutical uptake (BSRU) as an indicator of periodontal disease activity was assessed in untreated beagles with naturally occurring periodontal disease, and in beagles treated with the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, flurbiprofen. In untreated beagles, a single uptake measurement was indicative of the rate of bone loss subsequently determined by sequential radiographs. Beagles treated with flurbiprofen demonstrated a significant decrease in rate of bone loss and a corresponding decrease in BSRU. Transfer of this technology to untreated human subjects with moderate to severe periodontal disease also showed a positive correlation between a single measurement of BSRU and the rate of bone loss determined from sequential radiographs. Analysis of these data shows that a single BSRU examination may be indicative of periodontal disease activity.

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The authors acknowledge the expert assistance of Ms. Maryann Parda and Ms. Elizabeth Gill.