title: Osteoporosis: a risk factor in periodontal disease.
abstract: Osteoporosis is suspected as a risk factor in periodontal disease, but previous studies have failed to establish a relationship. Possible explanations for this could be lack of precise methods for assessment of osteoporosis in the jaws and confounding of the result by other factors such as age, gender, or smoking. In the present study 12 female patients with osteoporotic fractures (Group O) and 14 normal women (Group N) were examined clinically for plaque (VPI), gingival bleeding (GBI), and loss of attachment on the 6 Ramfjord index teeth. Bone mineral content (BMC) of the mandible and forearm was determined by dual photon scanning. Results were presented as arithmetic means +/- standard error, and differences between groups were tested by 2-sample t-test. The two groups were comparable with respect to age (O: 68.3 +/- 1.8 years, N: 68.1 +/- 1.5 years), menopausal age (O: 47.5 +/- 1.8 years, N: 47.2 +/- 1.3 years), and smoking habits (O: 4 smokers, N: 3 smokers). The osteoporotic women had significantly lower BMC values than controls in the mandible (O: 0.63 +/- 0.04 in U/cm2; N: 0.78 +/- 0.02 in U/cm2, P < 0.01) and forearm (O: 1.05 +/- 0.05 in U/cm; N: 1.28 +/- 0.05 in U/cm, P < 0.01). No significant differences were found with respect to plaque (O: 46.67 +/- 10.00%, N: 36.67 +/- 6.67%) and gingival bleeding (O: 46.67 +/- 11.67%, N: 43.33 +/- 10.00%), whereas significantly greater loss of attachment was seen in osteoporotic women (O: 3.65 +/- 0.18 mm, N: 2.86 +/- 0.19 mm, P < 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery, Dental School, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: von Wowern
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Klausen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kollerup
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000368:Aged; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D015519:Bone Density; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008336:Mandibular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000209:etiology*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012307:Risk Factors