Periodontal Disease In Postmenopausal Women May Indicate Presence of Osteoporosis

SAN ANTONIO -- Among postmenopausal women, a diagnosis of periodontal disease -- commonly known as gum disease -- may indicate that the patient also has osteoporosis, bone loss that can result in serious fractures, a pilot study by researchers at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine has shown.

Results of the study were presented today at the American Association of Dental Research Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. The research lays the groundwork for a larger investigation of the relationship between bone density and periodontal disease to be conducted by the UB dental school and the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

For the pilot study, researchers led by Mine Altekin, D.D.S., UB clinical instructor of oral biology, assessed 25 postmenopausal women who had differing levels of periodontal disease to identify the extent of their gum disease and to measure bone-mineral density, an indication of bone loss.

Bone-mineral density was assessed in the lumbar spine and the proximal femur, the large bone that runs from the spine to the knee, using a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometer.

Gum-disease status was assessed by several methods: clinical attachment level, probing pocket depth, presence of plaque above the gum line, bleeding of the gums, calculus above and below the gum line and a measure called alveolar crest height -- the amount of bone in the jaw where teeth are located. This last assessment was obtained through computer-assisted X-rays.

Results showed that women with lower alveolar crest height also had lower bone-mineral density at both the spine and femur. A significant relationship also was found between clinical attachment level and bone-mineral density at the femur, but not at the spine.

Altekin said that if the same relationships are found in a larger study, postmenopausal women diagnosed with gum disease will be advised to have their bone-mineral density measured for the existence of osteoporosis.

Members of the research team, in addition to Altekin, were Jean Wactawski-Wende, Ph.D., UB clinical assistant professor of gynecology and obstetrics; Sara G. Grossi, D.D.S., UB clinical professor of oral biology; Maurizio Trevisan, M.D., professor and chair of the UB Department of Social and Preventive Medicine; Myroslaw Hreschyshyn, M.D., professor and chair of the UB Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics; Robert Dunford, senior scientific programmer in oral biology, and Robert Genco, D.D.S., Ph.D., chair and SUNY Distinguished Professor in the UB Department of Oral Biology.

The research was supported in part by grants from the U.S. Public Health Service.