Objective

  Alveolar cancellous bone biopsy samples were extracted during dental implant preparation for investigating microstructural changes due to menopause and relationships between these changes and bone turnover markers.

 Study Design

  Subjects were 18 women receiving mandibular implants: premenopausal (n = 5), early postmenopausal (≤5 years n = 3), and late postmenopausal (>5 years n = 10). Bone turnover markers were measured and the samples analyzed using microscopic computerized tomography and 3-dimensional bone morphometry.

 Results

  The alveolar bone volume was significantly less in late postmenopausal women than in premenopausal ones. The trabeculae in early postmenopausal women were more separated and rod-like than in premenopausal ones (P < .05). Each alveolar bone parameter was significantly (P < .05) related to at least 1 bone turnover marker.

 Conclusions

  Alveolar cancellous bone structure begins changing even in early postmenopausal women, and this structure varies in close relationship to bone turnover markers.

 Source: Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology

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