Periodontal disease is a strong and independent predictor for tooth loss in post-menopausal women, according to a study in the July issue of Journal of Periodontology.
Researchers from the University at Buffalo, School of Dental Medicine, did a follow-up evaluation on 106 dentate white postmenopausal women who had participated in a cross-sectional study between 1989 and 1991. At baseline, clinicians performed full-mouth assessments of periodontal status clinically and radiographically. During the follow-up evaluation, a periodontist clinically assessed tooth loss.
The research team led by Dr. Mine Tezal found that 57.5 percent of subjects had lost at least one tooth during the follow-up period. They also found that each millimeter of alveolar bone loss from baseline increased the risk of tooth loss threefold. The risk of tooth loss also increased 2.5 times for each millimeter of clinical attachment loss from baseline. Researchers found that probing depth, gingival bleeding, calculus and plaque were not significantly associated with tooth loss.
"The long follow-up period is an advantage of this study since researchers were able to evaluate the same people more than 10 years later," said Dr. Vincent J. Iacono, president of the American Academy of Periodontology. "Since alveolar bone loss has been shown to be a significant factor for tooth loss in postmenopausal women, studies will be needed to determine possible aggravating effects of postmenopause on the severity of periodontal disease. Until we know more, post-menopausal women will want to control periodontal disease to significantly reduce their risk of alveolar bone loss and tooth loss."
