Periodontal conditions in elderly men with and without osteoporosis or osteopenia

Background: The purpose of this case-control study is to investigate the periodontal conditions in elderly men with and without osteoporosis or osteopenia and to determine their possible association with periodontal destruction. Methods: A total of 200 community-dwelling Chinese males (age range: 69 to 78 years; mean ± SD age: 71.9 ± 3.3 years) were recruited from the Jockey Club Center for Osteoporosis Care and Control, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, including 67 subjects with osteoporosis, 66 subjects with osteopenia, and 67 age-matched normal control subjects based on bone mineral density at the hip, spine, and whole body measured by dual-energy x-ray densitometry. All subjects were interviewed using questionnaires and received a full-mouth periodontal examination. Results: Subjects with osteoporosis exhibited a significantly higher percentage of sites with clinical attachment loss (AL) ≥6 mm compared to subjects with osteopenia (P<0.05); subjects with osteoporosis also showed a greater percentage of sites with interproximal gingival recession (GR) ≥5 mm than did control subjects (P<0.05) after excluding smokers. Subjects with osteoporosis were more likely (odds ratio = 3.3; P<0.05) to exhibit interproximal GR ≥5 mm than were control subjects. Osteoporosis remained significantly associated with severe clinical AL and interproximal GR after adjusting for age, supragingival plaque, and number of teeth lost. Conclusion: This study suggests that osteoporosis is associated with severe clinical AL and interproximal GR in elderly Chinese men.