Radiolucent periapical lesions and bone mineral density in post-menopausal women

To investigate the relationship between radiolucent periapical lesions and bone mineral density in post-menopausal women.

Seventy-five post-menopausal women were recruited for the study. Bone mineral density was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Three groups were established: healthy bone group, osteopenic group and osteoporotic group. Periapical radiolucencies were diagnosed on the basis of examination of digital panoramic radiographs. Statistical analysis was carried out using anova and chi-squared tests, and logistic regression analysis.

In both the osteopenic and osteoporotic groups, 25% of women showed at least one periapical radiolucency, whereas this was only 7.4% in the healthy bone group (odds ratio = 4.2; p = 0.061). After multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for covariates (age, number of teeth, number of root-filled teeth and number of teeth with coronal restorations), a marginally significant association was evident between bone mineral density and the presence of periapical radiolucencies (odds ratio = 1.9; CI 95% = 1.0-3.8; p = 0.050).

After adjusting for covariates, low bone mineral density is marginally associated with a higher frequency of radiolucent periapical lesions.