The Relationship Between the Density of the Mandible and That of Post-Cranial Bone in Postmenopausal Women

Skeletal mass declines in all populations with age, and it is suggested that changes in oral bone may be linked to the status of the postcranial skeleton. Systemic loss of bone density leading to osteoporosis has also been suspected as a systemic risk factor for oral bone loss. The purpose of this study was to determine if the bone density of the mandible is related to the bone density of the spine and hip in postmenopausal women and if the mandibular density is declined with age and time of menopause and edentia. 52 edentulous postmenopausal women underwent assessment of postcranial and mandibular bone. BMD of the lumbar spine (L2-L4), the femoral neck (F) and the mandible (ramus M1, body M2) was determined by DEXA. Lower BMD M1 was found in osteopenic (n = 16 0.230 ± 0.31 g/cm2 p<0.1) and osteoporotic women (n = 21 0.240 ± 0.37 g/cm2 p<0.1) compared to healthy subjects (n = 15 0.450 ± 0.59 g/cm2). The significant lowest value of BMD M2 was found in the osteoporotic group (0.720 ± 0.59 p<0.06 and the osteopenic group of women (0.770 ± 0.48 g/cm2 p<0.09) compared to healthy subjects (1.140 ± 0.7 g/cm2). Correlation analysis revealed significant relationships between the BMD M2 and BMD F (r = 0.330 p<0.02) and BMD L2-L4 (r = 0.242 p<0.08). BMD M1 was not significantly related to any other area. Age, the occurrance of menopause and the time of the edentia had significantly negative correlations with density of the mandibular body (BMD M2 r = -0.349 p<0.01 r = -0.286 p<0.05 r = -0.235 p