The correlation between postmenopausal osteoporosis and inflammatory periodontitis regarding bone loss in experimental models.

We have invented a mouse model of periodontitis associated with alveolar bone loss induced by lipopolysaccharide. Ovariectomized (OVX) animals are widely used as a model for osteoporosis due to estrogen deficiency. To define the relationship between periodontitis and osteoporosis, we examined the influence of estrogen deficiency on the mouse alveolar bone mass. In OVX mice, bone loss was detected not only in the femur, but also in the alveolar bone, indicating that estrogen deficiency could induce resorption in alveolar bone. In experiments using a combination of osteoporosis and periodontitis models, OVX significantly enhanced the alveolar bone loss in the model of periodontitis. Therefore, postmenopausal osteoporosis may enhance the risk of periodontitis associated with inflammatory alveolar bone resorption.