European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Both periodontitis and osteoporosis represent major health problems, with increased incidence and severity with advancing age, all over the world. Osteoporosis, though not being the initial cause of periodontitis, has been shown to be risk indicator that may contribute to the progression of periodontal disease. Some interventions that improve systemic BMD also improve measures of periodontal disease. Improvement of the two conditions by the same therapies suggests an underlying connection.
The three classes of therapy that have been implicated in this regard are
1)          Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
2)          Diet supplementation with calcium and vitamin D
3)          Bisphosphonates
A bone mineral density (BMD) test is used to measure an individual’s bone mass. BMD is measured using a DEXA scan. Most common cause is involutional bone loss in postmenopausal age group. Osteoporosis may be a primary disorder or secondary to other diseases or conditions. Primary osteoporosis includes idiopathic and involutional form. Idiopathic forms of osteoporosis are rare and affect men and women equally. Involutional osteoporosis includes two patterns type I (postmenopausal) and type II (age related) osteoporosis.
The present study was designed to assess and correlate bone mineral density and periodontitis among post-menopausal women