Sinking your teeth…into osteoporosis

Posted by Liz on Sep 7, 2009 in bone health | 1 comment

Time to beef up protection of your bones now….before osteoporosis leaves you with fewer teeth. Disturbing study findings from the March issue of the Journal of Clinical Periodontology suggest that osteoporosis won’t just leave you a few inches shorter and hunched over, but you may lose a few teeth while you’re at it.

Researchers examined 651 menopausal women between the ages of 45 and 70, measuring bone density in the hip, spine and the pelvis. Among the women examined, 140 had osteoporosis.

• Despite adjusting for factors that might increase osteoporosis risk, such as age and smoking, a significant association was found between osteoporosis and having fewer teeth.
• On average, women with osteoporosis had at one to three fewer teeth than those without.

Osteoporosis can affect the jaw, leading to bone loss and a decline in bone density needed to support teeth. Although the numbers of teeth lost are fairly low compared to healthy women, it’s important to keep in mind that studies show that tooth loss can have a significant impact on both quality of life and oral comfort.

I’ve written several posts about osteoporosis, bone loss and prevention so I’m not going to reinvent the wheel. But I do encourage you to peruse the archives and start taking steps to prevent, slow or halt bone loss before you lose a few bones, and a few teeth.

Just something to sink your teeth into….