The aim was to correlate alveolar bone loss in the buccal/palatal and the mesial/distal surfaces of upper molars in rats. Thirty-three, 60-day-old, male Wistar rats were divided in two groups, one treated with alcohol and the other not treated with alcohol. All rats received silk ligatures on the right upper second molars for 4 weeks. The rats were then euthanized and their maxillae were split and defleshed with sodium hypochlorite (9%). The cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) was stained with 1% methylene blue and the alveolar bone loss in the buccal/palatal surfaces was measured linearly in 5 points on standardized digital photographs. Measurement of the proximal sites was performed by sectioning the hemimaxillae, restaining the CEJ and measuring the alveolar bone loss linearly in 3 points. A calibrated and blinded examiner performed all the measurements. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient revealed values of 0.96 and 0.89 for buccal/lingual and proximal surfaces, respectively. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r) between measurements in buccal/palatal and proximal surfaces was 0.35 and 0.05 for the group treated with alcohol, with and without ligatures, respectively. The best correlations between buccal/palatal and proximal surfaces were observed in animals not treated with alcohol, in sites both with and without ligatures (r = 0.59 and 0.65, respectively). A positive correlation was found between alveolar bone loss in buccal/palatal and proximal surfaces. The correlation is stronger in animals that were not treated with alcohol, in sites without ligatures. Areas with and without ligature-induced periodontal destruction allow detection of alveolar bone loss in buccal/palatal and proximal surfaces.