Volume 2, Issue 1 pp. 20-34
Full Access

The periapical index: A scoring system for radiographic assessment of apical periodontitis

Dag Ørstavik

Corresponding Author

Dag Ørstavik

NIOM – Scandinavian Institute of Dental Materials, Oslo, Norway

Dr. Dag Ørstavik, NIOM – Scandinavian Institute of Dental Materials, Forskningsveien 1, N-0371 Oslo 3, Norway.Search for more papers by this author
Kasmer Kerekes

Kasmer Kerekes

Department of Operative Dentistry. Dental Faculty, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Search for more papers by this author
Harald M. Eriksen

Harald M. Eriksen

Department of Operative Dentistry. Dental Faculty, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Search for more papers by this author
First published: February 1986
Citations: 820

Abstract

Abstract A scoring system for registration of apical periodontitis in radiographs is presented. The system is termed the periapical index (PAI) and provides an ordinal scale of 5 scores ranging from 1 (healthy) to 5 (severe periodontitis with exacerbating features). Its validity is based on the use of reference radiographs of teeth with verified histological diagnoses. Results from studies involving 11 observers and 47 selected radiographs document that the PAI system is reasonably accurate, reproducible and able to discriminate between sub-populations. It may also allow for results from different researchers to be compared. The system may be suitable for the analysis of periapical radiographs in epidemiological studies, in clinical trials and in retrospective analyses of treatment results in endodontics.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.