Relationship between the number of remaining teeth and bone health status among the elderly in Korea

Objectives: The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between the number of remaining teeth and bone health status among adults over 65 years old. Methods: The study subjects were 1,843 adults over 65 years old drawn from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) in 2008-2010. Oral health status included the number of remaining teeth, and prosthetic appliance status. Bone health statuses were assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Bone health statuses were classified into normal (T-score ${\geq}-1.0$), osteopenia (-2.5 < T-score < -1.0), and osteoporosis (T-score ${\leq}-2.5$). Complex samples chi-square test was used to estimate the relationship between the number of remaining teeth and bone health status, and related factors included in the model were analyzed with the complex samples logistic regression analysis. Results: Using the multinomial logistic regression analytic method, the elderly having 20 or more remaining teeth and those having less than 20 remaining teeth with prosthesis were compared. The latter group had 1.89 times higher rate of being diagnosed as having osteoporosis. Conclusions: This study suggests that oral health is an important factor for geriatric osteoporosis. Therefore, in order to prevent fractures due to osteoporosis and osteoporosis in old age, it is necessary to be aware of the relationship between oral health and osteoporosis, and oral health should be considered when preparing preventive management strategies.

한국 노인의 현존치아수와 골 건강상태와의 연관성