Relationship between oral health and mortality rate.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Some symptoms of diseases or causes of death are often related to oral health, especially cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between poor oral health and mortality risk, especially when cases of fatal cardiovascular diseases were excluded. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An odontological investigation was made on a sample of 1393 individuals, aged 18-65 years, in 1970 in the County of Stockholm with a follow-up in 1997, when the mortality rate and causes of death in the sample during the time period 1971-1996 were registered. Oral health was defined as a sum of scores for number of missing teeth, apical lesions, caries lesions and marginal bone loss. RESULTS: A significant correlation was found between poor oral health and an increased mortality risk even when persons dying from cardiovascular diseases were excluded from the analyses. CONCLUSION: Poor oral health was found to be a risk indicator of all-cause mortality. The lack of specificity of the associations between oral health and mortality strengthens the hypothesis that the significant correlations could be explained by not identified confounding factors.

Prediction of marginal bone loss and tooth loss--a prospective study over 20 years.

AIM: The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of potential risk predictors/risk factors on the longitudinal marginal bone loss and tooth loss over 20 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A clinical and radiographic investigation of a sample of 513 individuals was performed in 1970 and 1990. Stepwise multiple regression analyses were adopted to calculate the influence of the potential risk predictors/risk factors on the longitudinal marginal bone loss and tooth loss. RESULTS: Russell's Periodontal Index in 1970 and smoking were significantly and positively correlated to longitudinal bone loss. Russell's Periodontal Index, marginal bone loss and Plaque Index at baseline were positively and significantly correlated to the longitudinal tooth loss, whilst age, the number of missing teeth in 1970 and the number of school years showed a significant negative correlation to number of teeth lost between 1970 and 1990. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking was found to be a significant risk factor in marginal bone loss, while plaque was a risk factor in tooth loss. However, the regression models explained a low percentage of the total variance, especially for marginal bone loss.

Influence of smoking on marginal bone loss and tooth loss--a prospective study over 20 years.

AIMS: The aim was to investigate the influence of smoking on longitudinal marginal bone loss and tooth loss in a prospective study over 20 years. In addition, the effect of cessation of smoking on bone loss and the interaction between smoking, plaque and marginal bone loss were evaluated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 507 dentate individuals from an epidemiological study were examined in 1970 and 1990. The clinical investigation included registration of number of remaining teeth and presence of plaque. The marginal bone level was determined by assessments on the proximal surfaces on the radiographs from 1970 and 1990. The marginal bone loss was defined as the difference in marginal bone level over 20 years. The subjects were interviewed about smoking habits. Stepwise multiple regression analyses were adopted to calculate the influence of the independent variables on longitudinal marginal bone loss and tooth loss. RESULTS: In 1970, 50.7% of the subjects were smokers, while the corresponding relative frequency in 1990 had decreased to 31.0%. Smoking was significantly correlated to an increased marginal bone loss over 20 years. Individuals who stopped smoking between 1970 and 1990 lost significantly less marginal bone during this period than those who declared that they smoked during the 20-year period. Smoking was not found to be significantly correlated to tooth loss over 20 years. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the hypothesis that smoking is a significant risk factor of periodontal disease.

Marginal bone loss and tooth loss in a sample from the County of Stockholm--a longitudinal study over 20 years.

The purpose of the study was to assess the degree of marginal alveolar bone loss and tooth loss in a longitudinal study over a period of 20 years. In 1970 a medical and odontological study on a stratified sample of the population of the County of Stockholm aged 18-65 years started. Twenty years later a new odontological investigation was performed on the 513 subjects who wanted to take part once more and who had at least five remaining teeth. The mean distance between the marginal bone level and the cemento-enamel junction measured on the radiographs in 1970 (MBL) was 13.8% of the root length. The mean bone loss during the 20-year period (MBD) was about 10%, corresponding to a mean annual marginal bone loss of about 0.1 mm. The MBD-values were significantly positively correlated to the MBL-values. The mean number of remaining teeth was 24.7 in 1970 and 21.8 in 1990. A significant positive correlation existed between the number of teeth lost between 1970 and 1990 and the mean MBD-value. In stepwise multiple regression analyses, the MBL-value was the only independent variable positively correlated to the MBD-value, while the number of teeth lost between 1970 and 1990 was significantly correlated to age and the MBL-value.