Comparison of bone mineral density in the jaws of peri-menopausal women with and without chronic periodontitis

Objective: Several studies showed relationship between systemic bone mineral density (BMD) and the severity of periodontitis.The aim of this study was to compare mandibular BMD of peri-menopausal women with chronic periodontitis with that of periodontally healthy subjects Materials and Methods: 20 peri-menopausal women with healthy periodotium and 20 peri-menopausal women with moderate to severe chronic periodontium were included in the study. All subjects were systemically healthy. The mandibular bone mineral density of the subjects was determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and a computer calculated the bone mineral density of mandible. Results: The mandibular bone mineral density of the subjects with periodontitis was significantly lower than that of the periodontically healthy subjects (p,0.01). There were correlations between the mandibular bone mineral density values and parameters of periodontal periodontitis Conclusion: Bone mineral density in the mandible may be associated with chronic periodontitis of peri-menopausal wome