This pilot study was undertakento determine the effect of x‐ray beam alignment and spatial resolution on quantification of alveolar bone using radiometric techniques. Six (6) dry mandibles were radiographed at 70 kVp, 10 mA, 0.6 seconds using D‐speed film, with a bone chip (2.64, 4.10, or 6.07 mg) present or absent at 7 x‐ray beam alignments (0°, 2° horizontal, 2° vertical, 4° horizontal, 4° vertical, 6° horizontal, 6° vertical). This resulted in 28 radiographs per mandible. Radiographs were digitized using 50‐ and 200‐μm pixel spatial resolution. Image gray levels were standardized using a simple look‐up table shift. Regions of interest (ROIs) were positioned on the alveolar bone where the bone chips had been placed. Cumulative percent histograms (CPH) were calculated for those ROIs. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationships between CPH changes and bone chip size as x‐ray beam angulation and spatial resolution was varied. The resulting R2values for angulation ranges of 0° to 1.4°, 1.5° to 2.4°, and 2.5° to 5.5° were: 0.983, 0.941, 0.891 for 50‐μm pixel images and 0.869, 0.909, and 0.774 for 200‐μm pixel images. We conclude that 50‐μm pixel spatial resolution is apparently superior to 200‐μm pixel images if radiometric data is to be evaluated. With 50‐μm pixel spatial resolution, alignment variations up to 5° may be acceptable in clinical studies, depending on the magnitude of bone change that is to be detected.J Periodontol 1996;67:41–45.