ATTACHMENT LOSS WITH POSTMENOPAUSAL AGE AND SMOKING

To determine whether postmenopausal bone loss and factors associated w ith osteoporosis affect tooth retention, we examined vertebral and pro ximal femoral (postcranial) bone mineral density in relation to tooth loss and attachment loss in a cross-sectional study of 135 postmenopau sal women (age range 41-70 yr). Women had at least 10 teeth and no evi dence of moderate or severe periodontal disease. Full-mouth attachment loss measurements were made using a pressure-sensitive probe, and bon e density was determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Attachme nt loss was correlated with tooth loss (number of remaining teeth, rad iologically determined), but not with vertebral or proximal femur bone density. Multivariate analysis showed current smoking (p=0.01), years since menopause (p=0.02) and the interaction of age and current smoki ng (p<0.01), to be statistically significant predictors of attachment loss in our study population.