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Radiographic periodontal attachment loss as an indicator of death risk in the elderly
Author(s) -
Soikkonen K.,
Wolf J.,
Salo T.,
Tilvis R.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of clinical periodontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.456
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1600-051X
pISSN - 0303-6979
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-051x.2000.027002087.x
Subject(s) - medicine , periodontitis , dentistry , clinical attachment loss , gingival and periodontal pocket , radiography , tooth loss , odds ratio , orthodontics , oral health , surgery
Objectives: Oral infections have been associated with serious systemic diseases and an increased risk of death. Our aims were to investigate whether radiographically‐observed apical periodontitis lesions, carious teeth, periodontal attachment loss (horizontal bone loss, furcation lesions, number of teeth with infrabony periodontal pockets, the extent of infrabony periodontal pockets) and the sum of all these findings have any relationships with all‐cause mortality within 4‐year follow‐up. Material and methods: 292 community‐dwelling elderly persons aged 76, 81 and 86 years. The number of deaths within 4 years was 54 (18.5%). In the dentate 169 subjects, of whom 32 (18.9%) deceased within 4 years, the mean number of teeth was 15.5 in men and 13.2 in women. The imaging method used was panoramic radiography supplemented by intraoral radiographs. Results: 51% of the dentate subjects had infrabony pockets (mean 1.5, s.d. 2.2), and 40% had periapical periodontitis lesions (mean 1.0, s.d. 1.6). After controlling for age and gender, vertical bone loss judged as advanced infrabony pockets was associated with 4‐year all‐cause mortality (Odds ratio 2.2,1.0–4.7). Other associations were statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Periodontal attachment loss may indicate an increased risk of death in the elderly.