Do patients with osteoporosis have increased suffering from dental disease?
Prof. Keith Horner, Dr Hugh Devlin, Dr Elizabeth Marjonovic, Prof. Judy Adams, Dr. Tanya Walsh (University of Manchester) It has long been suspected that osteoporosis is a cause of poor dental health. As people get older they loose teeth. What we do not know is whether this is due to natural ageing or might be caused by osteoporosis. We will study a group of people who have osteopororsis and compare them to a group of healthy people of the same age. Each person will receive a detailed dental examination to assess the amount of gum disease. By comparing the two groups we will be able to determine the effect of osteoporosis on dental health. It is important that dentists are aware of osteoporosis as a cause for dental disease so that they can take supportive action. The consequences for patients of poor dental health is an increase in the number of lost teeth leading to a change in facial appearance, a loss of self-esteem and function, and often results in patients wearing false teeth. T
