Chicago - July 21, 2005 Postmenopausal women may significantly reduce tooth loss by controlling their periodontal disease, according to a study in the Journal of Periodontology. Researchers from the University at Buffalo, School of Dental Medicine did a follow-up evaluation on 106 postmenopausal women and found that during an average of 11.7 years follow-up, 57.5 percent of the participants lost at least one tooth. “We found that alveolar bone loss (the bone that holds the tooth in the mouth) is the strongest independent predictor of tooth loss in the postmenopausal population,” explained Mine Tezal, DDS and study author. “Each millimeter of alveolar bone loss increased the risk of tooth loss 3 times, and the risk of tooth loss increased 2.5 times for each millimeter of clinical attachment loss, or soft tissue attachment between the tooth and alveolar bone.” (This is also known as loss of gums and bone.)
