Evaluation of the Association Between Periodontal Parameters, Osteoporosis and Osteopenia in Post Menopausal Women

Objective: Different studies have reported contradictory results about the effect of os- teoporosis on periodontal status. We performed this study to evaluate the periodontal status of menopausal women by methods with enough accuracy and confidence. Materials and Methods: This study was performed based on the evaluation of bone mineral density using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry in 2010. A total of 60 pa- tients who met the inclusion criteria were selected and divided into three groups of os- teoporosis, osteopenia, and normal. Then, evaluation of periodontal markers such as pocket depth (DP), attachment loss (AL), and tooth loss (TL) was performed by a dental student. A panoramic radiography was performed for those who were suspi- cious of periodontal disease and bone decline. Finally, evaluation of the periodontal indexes was compared among the three groups using ANOVA with 95% confidence interval. Results: Mean bone decline was higher in the osteoporosis group compared to the other two groups, but the difference was not significant (P=0.065). In addition, mean of plaque index (P=0.123), pocket depth (P=0.856), attachment loss (p=0.525), and tooth loss (p=0.884), the number of people with attachment loss ≥ 2millimeter (P=0.866) and the number of people with alveolar bone loss ≥ 2 millimeter (P=0.348) were not significantly different between the three groups. Conclusion: In this study, no significant difference was observed between the three groups in terms of plaque index, pocket depth, attachment loss, or tooth loss. Howev- er, further studies are required that could control all the possible confounding variables.