Periodontal conditions in elderly men with and without osteoporosis or osteopenia

The purpose of this case-control study is to investigate the periodontal conditions in elderly men with and without osteoporosis or osteopenia and to determine their possible association with periodontal destruction.

A total of 200 community-dwelling Chinese males (age range: 69 to 78 years; mean ± SD age: 71.9 ± 3.3 years) were recruited from the Jockey Club Center for Osteoporosis Care and Control, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, including 67 subjects with osteoporosis, 66 subjects with osteopenia, and 67 age-matched normal control subjects based on bone mineral density at the hip, spine, and whole body measured by dual-energy x-ray densitometry. All subjects were interviewed using questionnaires and received a full-mouth periodontal examination.

Subjects with osteoporosis exhibited a significantly higher percentage of sites with clinical attachment loss (AL) > or= 6 mm compared to subjects with osteopenia (P <0.05); subjects with osteoporosis also showed a greater percentage of sites with interproximal gingival recession (GR) > or = 5 mm than did control subjects (P <0.05) after excluding smokers. Subjects with osteoporosis were more likely (odds ratio = 3.3; P <0.05) to exhibit interproximal GR > or = 5 mm than were control subjects. Osteoporosis remained significantly associated with severe clinical AL and interproximal GR after adjusting for age, supragingival plaque, and number of teeth lost.

This study suggests that osteoporosis is associated with severe clinical AL and interproximal GR in elderly Chinese men.