Postmenopausal osteoporosis and tooth loss.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine relation between tooth loss and general body bone mineral density in postmenopausal female who were seeking for prosthetic treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS There were included 79 women in this study (age from 49-81 years, mean age 62.9 years) with partial tooth loss. For all patients bone mineral density measurements for lumbar spine and both femoral necks by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (Lunar DEXA DPX-NT, GE Medical Systems) were performed. Based on DEXA results patients were divided into 3 groups: normal bone density (T-score ≥-1.0), osteopenia (T-score from -1.0 till -2.5) and osteoporosis (T-score ≤-2.5). Dental investigation was performed to detect existing teeth. ANOVA analysis of variance was used to determine relationship between different variables by group. To test correlation between different values Pearson correlation was used. RESULTS The number of teeth in different bone mineral density groups is almost similar. There are no statistically significant differences between groups according the number of the all teeth present and according the number of teeth in maxilla and mandible. There is no significant correlation between the number of the teeth and DEXA readings, except there is weak correlation between the number of maxillary posterior teeth and bone mineral density in femoral neck. CONCLUSION There is no correlation between number of the teeth and general bone mineral density.