Original article Effect of osteoporosis on periodontal therapy among post- menopausal women Isaac S. Gomes-Filho 1 , Tiago J. S. Oliveira 1 , Johelle S. Passos 1 , Eneida de M. M. Cerqueira 2 , Simone S. da Cruz 3 , Maurı ´cio L. Barreto 4 , Julita M. F. Coelho 2 , Soraya C. Trindade 1 , Carlos A. S. T. Santos 5 and Viviane A. Sarmento 1 1 Department of Periodontics, Feira de Santana State University, Bahia, Brazil; 2 Department of Biological Sciences, Feira de Santana State University, Bahia, Brazil; 3 Epidemiology Section, Federal University of Vale do Sa ˜ o Francisco, Pernambuco, Brazil; 4 Public Health Institute, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; 5 Department of Statistics, Feira de Santana State University, Bahia, Brazil doi: 10.1111/j.1741-2358.2012.00643.x Effect of osteoporosis on periodontal therapy among post-menopausal women Objective: This intervention study aimed to investigate the effect of osteoporosis on periodontal condition among 48 post-menopausal women undergoing periodontal therapy. Material and methods: The experimental group, which underwent non-surgical periodontal therapy, was composed of 16 women with periodontitis to be treated, and the control group was formed by 32 women without periodontitis. Oral condition was assessed on three occasions: at the start of the treatment (first examination), 1 month (first re-examination) and 4 months after the end of the therapy (second re-examination). In the second re-examination, recurrence of periodontal disease was evaluated by comparing the clinical measurements obtained pre- and post-treatment. The diagnosis of osteoporosis was made by investigating densitometry reports obtained previously. Descriptive analysis, analysis of variance and the Bonferroni post hoc test were applied to the data gathered, with statistical significance level of 5%. Results: The frequency of periodontitis was 50% in the treated group and 25% in the group without periodontitis. In both groups, this recurrence was greater in subjects with osteoporosis (37.5 and 18.75%, respectively) than in the individuals without osteoporosis (12.5 and 6.25%, respectively). Conclusions: The preliminary results indicate that osteoporosis possibly has an influence on periodontal condition among individuals undergoing non-surgical periodontal treatment. Keywords: osteoporosis, periodontal disease, periodontal medicine, menopause. Accepted 25 September 2011 Introduction Increasing longevity resulting from the epidemio- logical transition has had the implication that there is a need to take a new look at issues relating to the elderly population. There are dis- eases specific to this age group, and osteoporosis and periodontal disease are among them. These diseases notably eat up budgetary resources des- tined for healthcare. Since the mid-1960s, the topic of the influence of osteoporosis on progression of periodontal disease has motivated the development of clinical studies in an attempt to elucidate this possible association, but the findings are still divergent and inconclusive. Some of these studies have showed a lack of asso- ciation 1–8 while others have revealed either a weak or a significant association 9–17 . Osteoporosis is a multifactorial chronic disease characterised by reduction in bone mineral density (BMD) to below the minimum level required to ensure sufficient mechanical support, which in- creases its fragility and the risk of fractures 18 . It has been estimated that one in every four women at the menopause, and one in every three women beyond the age of 65 years, is affected by osteo- porosis 6 . Data on its prevalence are scarce and discontinuous, but some surveys have estimated that it is present in 15–20% of Brazilian women over the age of 50 years 19 . 40 Ó 2012 The Gerodontology Society and John Wiley & Sons A/S, Gerodontology 2013; 30 40–48