Alveolar bone measurement precision for phosphor-plate images.

Objectives: The aim was to demonstrate methods for determining measurement precision and to determine the precision of alveolar bone measurements made with a vacuum-coupled positioning device and phosphor plate images.

Study Design: Subjects were rigidly attached to the x-ray tube by means of a vacuum coupling device and custom cross-arch bite plates. Original and repeat radiographs (taken within minutes of each other) were obtained of the mandibular posterior teeth of 51 subjects, and cementoenamel junction-alveolar crest (CEJ-AC) distances were measured on both sets of images.