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Periodontal Health and Bone Density

Soon after I went through menopause, and quite a few years before I had a dexascan and found that I had low bone density, I began having periodontal problems--gum recession, bleeding when my teeth were cleaned, etc. This was surprising since I had good preventive dental health care at home and with my dentist. I found out years later that this was an early warning of poor bone density. I wish I had known. Here are some excerpts from web sites about this issue:

From American Academy of Peridontology

Special Concerns for Older Women

Women who are menopausal or post-menopausal may experience changes in their mouths.

Estrogen deficiency could place post-menopausal women at higher risk for severe periodontal disease and tooth loss.

In addition, hormonal changes in older women may result in discomfort in the mouth, including dry mouth, pain and burning sensations in the gum tissue and altered taste, especially salty, peppery or sour.

Menopausal gingivostomatitis affects a small percentage of women. Gums that look dry or shiny, bleed easily and range from abnormally pale to deep red mark this condition.

Bone loss is associated with both periodontal disease and osteoporosis. Osteoporosis could lead to tooth loss because the density of the bone that supports the teeth may be decreased. More research is being done to determine if and how a relationship between osteoporosis and periodontal disease exists.

From: World Health On Line, Integrative Medicine: Susan M. Lark M.D. (Excerpted from The Women's Health Companion, Celestial Arts)

One out of three American women will develop osteoporosis after menopause. The statistics surrounding osteoporosis are astounding. More than 1.3 million fractures occur in the United States each year because of this condition, including 250,000 hip fractures. Eighty percent of these fractures occur in women over 65 with osteoporosis. About one-quarter of these women die within one year from complications caused by their fractures, such as blood clots and pneumonia. Another one-third never regain the ability to function physically or socially on their own. These women spend the rest of their lives requiring long term care in nursing facilities. Besides causing hip fractures, osteoporosis is also responsible for loss of bone in the jaw, gum recession (both of which are early signs of this condition), dowager's humps, loss of height, back pain due to compression and fractures of the vertebra, and fractures of the wrist (known as colles fractures by physicians).