A systematic review on the correlation between skeletal and jawbone mineral density in osteoporotic subjects

The aim of this systematic review was to assess whether the systemic skeletal reduction of bone mineral density (BMD) that characterizes osteoporotic subjects is also associated with a reduction of BMD in the jawbones.

Two reviewers searched independently and in duplicate three databases up to May 2014 and assessed the risk of bias using a tailored version of the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS). Only papers reporting either Pearson's correlation coefficient or Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between skeletal and jawbone mineral density in more than five osteoporotic subjects were selected.

From 1763 citations, 64 full-text papers were screened and five papers that met the inclusion criteria were included in the final analysis. None of the included studies complied with all NOS criteria, and as only two studies were eligible for meta-analysis, this was not performed.

Only limited conclusions can be drawn from this systematic review, due to the small number of studies included, their heterogeneity, and their high risk of bias. Future studies that take into consideration both upper and lower jaws, that use the same technique to measure skeletal and jaw BMD (ideally dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, DXA), and that account for confounding variables (such as medications/diseases affecting bone metabolism and demographics) are needed to provide more robust conclusions.