The impact of periodontal disease on cementochronology age estimation

The results demonstrated that the degree of alveolysis had only limited effects on the counting of cementum annulations in the middle (rp = 0.92, p < 0.01 between estimated and civil age) and the cervical (rp = 0.85, p < 0.01) thirds of the root, whereas in the apical third, the increments were affected considerably. This cementum reactive process compensates for bone destruction and loss of the attachment apparatus. These data suggest that cementum could continue to grow at a slower rate despite bone destruction due to periodontal disease. Cementochronology can thus be applied to teeth with a damaged periodontium by sectioning the middle third of the root.