Dentists told to check bones as well as teeth

Dentists may be able to help screen women for osteoporosis by looking more closely at their x-rays, claim Japanese researchers.

Panoramic dental x-rays, which show the whole jaw, can also show the beginnings of low skeletal bone mineral density, the first step towards osteoporosis, said Dr Akira Taguchi of Hiroshima University Hospital in Japan.

He and his colleagues studied 316 women past menopause who had no symptoms of osteoporosis and who had been subject to dental x-rays.

The x-rays were just as sensitive as questionnaires in identifying the women who were likely to have the beginnings of osteoporosis, Taguchi told this month's issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Women were more likely to take a trip to the dentist than to get checked for osteoporosis, Dr Taguchi said.

"The response rate for questionnaires may be relatively low if post-menopausal women have little information or no interest regarding osteoporosis."

Women with a small frame, of Caucasian descent and who are poorly nourished have a higher risk of osteoporosis. Worldwide, 30 to 40 per cent of all women and one in five of all men will have osteoporosis in their lives, often severe enough to cause a bone fracture, says the International Osteoporosis Foundation.

- REUTERS