Dental X-rays give warning of osteoporosis

Dentists may be able to help screen women for osteoporosis by looking at X-rays that they are taking anyway.

Panoramic dental X-rays, which show the whole jaw, can also show the beginnings of low skeletal bone mineral density -- the first step toward osteoporosis, Japanese researchers have reported.

Dr. Akira Taguchi of Hiroshima University Hospital in Japan and colleagues studied 316 women past menopause who had no symptoms of osteoporosis but who got dental X-rays. The X-rays were just as useful as questionnaires in identifying the women who were likely to have the beginnings of osteoporosis, they reported in the December issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Women may be more likely to take a trip to the dentist’s office than to get checked for osteoporosis, Taguchi said.

Worldwide, 30% to 40% of women and about 20% of men will have osteoporosis in their lives, often severe enough to cause a bone fracture, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation.