Oral health and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study was to assess dental and periodontal status in relation to bone mineral density (BMD), and to study cytological changes in oral epithelium.

METHODS

Thirty-seven postmenopausal women aged 50-70 were given a dental examination and a BMD assessment.

RESULTS

There was a relationship between the femoral neck BMD and teeth state, a negative correlation between the lumbar BMD and the periodontal disease index (PDI) and between the radius BMD and the papillary bleeding index (PBI). PDI correlated positively with the number of superficial cells in the marginal gingiva smears. Correlation between PDI and parabasal cells and the number of teeth was negative.

CONCLUSIONS

In observed postmenopausal women, there is a negative association between bone mineral density and teeth state and periodontal indices. Oral epithelium revealed atrophic changes resulting in low keratinization. The study suggests an association between decreasing in bone mineral density, alveolar bone loss and the numbers of various cell types in epithelial smears.