Relationship between bone mineral density and the remaining teeth in Korean adults

Objectives: The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between bone mineral density and remaining teeth in Korean adults. Methods: Using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(KNHANES) 5th Year 1(2010), 1,985 adults over 50 years old having bone mineral density test were selected. Male adults were 883, and female adults were 1,102. The raw data consisted of general characteristics of the subjects, bone density data, and oral examination data. The questionnaire consisted of general health survey, laboratory examination study, and nutrition study. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 program for multiple regression analysis, ANOVA, t-test. The variables included general characteristics of the subjects, health behavior, diet habit, and oral health behavior. General characteristics consisted of gender, age, residence area, education level, marital status, monthly income, and vocation. Health behavior consisted of smoking, alcohol drinking, body mass index(BMI), physical activity, and mental health. Diet habit consisted of frequency of meal, milk, coffee, and calcium ingestion. Oral health behavior consisted of frequency of tooth brushing, use of oral health care devices, and oral examination. Systemic diseases were measured by the questionnaire for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia. Bone density was measured in T-score of femoral bone, neck of femur, and lumbar vertebrae. Bone density was classified into normal($T-score{\geq}-1.0$), osteopenia(-2.5 < T-score < -1.0), and osteoporosis ($T-score{\leq}-2.5$). The remaining teeth were measured by the differences between normal teeth and missing teeth. Results: Smoking and age are the most influencing factors on the number of remaining teeth and bone density(p<0.01)(p<0.05). Those who had higher bone density, younger age, and nonsmoker significantly had more remaining teeth. Those who were men, diabetic, lowly educated women, and low birth weighted persons tended to have less number of teeth(p<0.01). Conclusions: The study suggested that there were significant differences between men and women according to the oral health management behavior and systemic disease control. Proper management of the oral health and good quality of bone mineral density can reserve the remaining teeth through the whole life.

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