Tooth loss and skeletal bone density in healthy postmenopausal women

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Associations between dental status and skeletal bone density were investigated in a group of 329 healthy postmenopausal women with normal bone density. Bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine, femoral neck and distal radius were measured by dual-or single-photon absorptiometry. Number of teeth remaining were counted and presence of complete dentures noted by a nurse practitioner. Forty-eight women (15%) wore a complete maxillary and/or mandibular denture: 22 (7%) were completely edentulous and an additional 26 (8%) had one edentulous ridge. Among women without complete dentures (n=281), significant positive linear relationships were observed between number of teeth and BMD at the spine (pp2,p2,p=0.05). In linear regression analysis, significant independent correlations were found among all women (n=329) between number of teeth and age (partialr=−0.19,pr=−0.23,pr=+0.11,p<0.05). These associations between dental status and BMD support the hypothesis that systemic bone loss may contribute to tooth loss.