Relationship between Oral Condition and Bone Density as shown by Results of Public Health Screening Examinations using Functional Tooth Evaluation Score

In our previous study, we examined the relationship between the results on bone density of the calcaneus measured by ultrasonography (echography) and the number of remaining teeth. However, it is difficult to conclude that the number of remaining teeth alone is sufficient for use as a parameter of the oral condition, though this parameter is indispensable for quantifying and expressing the oral condition as a numeric rating. In the present study, the bone density of the calcaneus was compared with the results of a similar parameter known as the Functional Tooth Evaluation Score (FTES), and the following findings were obtained: 1. Both FTES results and the number of remaining teeth demonstrated a positive correlation at the same level with bone density of the calcaneus, though the confidence level was higher for the FTES. 2. FTES reflected changes in the oral condition more closely than the number of remaining teeth. Thus the FTES is a practical parameter for judging long-term changes in the bone density of the calcaneus

Relationship between Oral Condition and Bone Density Assessed from Results of Public Health Screening Examinations

Recently, relationships between diseases encountered in the fields of medicine and those in dentistry have been reported in the context of periodontal medicine. In the present study, we examined the relationship between the results on bone density of the calcaneus measured by ultrasonography (echography) and the number of remaining teeth, which studies were performed by local governmental authorities. The subjects were 235 women between 30-70 years of age whose bone density of the calcaneus was examined by echography. Our analysis indicated that subjects with 19 or fewer remaining teeth had an 11-fold greater risk of reduced bone density of the calcaneus, as compared with subjects with 20 or more remaining teeth. (Odds ratio: 10.9, 95% confidence interval: 3.18 for the lower limit, 37.37 for the upper limit). The bone density of the calcaneus in these former subjects was 79% or below the mean value for young adults. These results suggest a direct relationship between tooth loss and osteoporosis, and indicate that for a diagnosis of osteoporosis, an echographic examination would be more pertinent or needful for those women having 20 or more teeth remaining