Relationship between bone mineral density, its associated physiological factors, and tooth loss in postmenopausal Korean women.

Chang-Suk Kim,Kyeong-Soo Lee,Jun Sung Moon,Youn-Hee Choi,Eun-Kyong Kim,Tae-Yoon Hwang,Hee-Kyung Lee

doi:10.1186/s12905-015-0218-x

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious studies have proposed a relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and oral health. However, the relationship between BMD and tooth loss in female individuals is not yet well understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the association between BMD, including its related physiological factors, and tooth loss among postmenopausal women in Korea.MethodsA total of 3,992 postmenopausal women aged 50 years or above were selected from the Fourth and Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, which were cross-sectional in design and conducted from 2008 to 2011. The participants’ BMD and number of teeth were assessed by radiologists and dentists. Socioeconomic characteristics and female-related physiological factors, including menarche age, duration of menopause, number of pregnancies, age at first child’s birth, and duration of oral contraceptive or female hormone use, were surveyed.ResultsParticipants who had lower BMD had significantly fewer teeth (p < 0.001). Female-related physiological factors, including the duration of menopause, number of pregnancies, age at first child’s birth, duration of oral contraceptive or female hormone use, and calcium intake level, showed a significant relationship with the number of teeth. Using multiple regression analysis, BMD, duration of menopause, age at first child’s birth, and duration of female hormone use significantly influenced the number of teeth.ConclusionsBMD and its related physiological factors in female individuals showed a significant relationship with the number of teeth in postmenopausal Korean women, implicating osteoporosis as a risk factor for tooth loss in postmenopausal women.

Highlights

Previous studies have proposed a relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and oral health
Osteoporosis is a common metabolic bone disease, often occurring in postmenopausal women, and it is defined as a bone mineral density (BMD) at least 2.5 standard deviations (SDs) below the peak bone mass of a young, healthy, sex- and race-matched reference population, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) [1]
Half of the participants had osteopenia (48.99 %) and osteoporosis was seen in 37.60 % of the participants

Summary

Introduction

Previous studies have proposed a relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and oral health. The aim of this study was to assess the association between BMD, including its related physiological factors, and tooth loss among postmenopausal women in Korea. It has been reported that substantial loss of BMD is caused by the Menopause in women has been reported to affect oral health [6]. Ward and Manson reported that osteoporosis did not cause periodontitis but increased the rate of BMD reduction [13]. Hunziker et al reported that a decrease in estrogen secretion may lead to osteoporosis and BMD reduction in the mandible when periodontitis is already present [14]. Tezal et al reported that skeletal BMD was associated with periodontal tissues, such as alveolar bone, and clinical attachment [15]

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