The objective of this project is to carry out a study to develop, implement, and evaluate the results of a descriptive study of tooth and oral bone status for a subsample of women enrolled in the observational component of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) and to correlate these measures with skeletal bone density assessments. The proposed research is designed to address the following primary research questions within a unique cohort of peri- and post-menopausal women: 1. Is there a relationship between oral bone density and systemic bone density in peri- and post-menopausal women? 2. Is the severity of alveolar bone loss, residual ridge resorption, and tooth loss greater in patients with decreased skeletal bone density? 3. Is hormone replacement therapy associated with either higher tooth counts or less alveolar and residual ridge bone loss? Data from the oral component will be linked to the WHI participant's file, thereby establishing the framework for descriptive and analytic analyses of tooth and oral bone status in relation to health behaviors, medical status, and skeletal bone density assessments.
