Quality and Findings of Bitewing Radiographs among Twenty-Year-Old Conscripts in Finland

Table 1

The variables and their values used in the study.

Pair of bitewing radiographs
Technical quality (projection, exposure)	0 = adequate
	1 = inadequate
Chemical quality (development)	0 = adequate
	1 = inadequate
Whole dentition
Loss of marginal bone	0 = <2 mm (healthy, normal)
	1 = 2–4 mm (minor)
	2 = 4–6 mm (moderate)
	3 = >6 mm (severe)
	4 = furcation
	5 = complicated (vertical and horizontal loss of bone)
Lamina dura (occlusal stress)	0 = normal
	1 = increased size of the lamina dura and dilation of the periodontal ligament space
Attrition (abrasion, erosion)	0 = no attrition
	1 = minor
	2 = severe
Calculus	0 = none
	1 = scarce, in one or two teeth
	2 = moderate, in two or three teeth
	3 = plenty, in five or more teeth
By teeth
Filling	0 = no filling
	1 = tooth-colored filling
	2 = amalgam
Caries	0 = intact
	1 = enamel caries
	2 = dentinal caries
	3 = caries to pulp
	4 = root caries
Fractures/chipping	0 = no fracture
	1 = fracture
Microleakage	0 = none
	1 = leakage
Excess filling material	0 = none
	1 = excess filling
Resorption	0 = none
	1 = resorption
Endodontic treatment	0 = none
	1 = root canal filling