Four hundred and six individuals from an unselected sample from the County of Stockholm aged 18-65 years in 1970 were examined radiographically in 1970 and 1980. The differences in proximal alveolar bone height were recorded, attention being paid to the divergences in projection between the two investigations. The mean of the alveolar bone difference was 5.5% of the mean root length, which corresponds to an average annual bone loss of 0.09 mm. Ninety per cent of the individuals had a difference in alveolar bone height of less than 10% of the root length--that is, an average bone loss of 1.6 mm or less during 10 years. By linear regression analysis it was shown that the difference in alveolar bone height is a function of the initial bone loss; that is, the greater the initial bone loss, the greater the alveolar bone loss during the 10-year period. The result of the regression analysis may facilitate predictions of alveolar bone loss.