Hi everyone,
Are you familiar with a Fracture Assessment Risk Tool? Chances are probably not if you don’t suffer from repeated bone fractures or osteoporosis or have a family history of osteoporosis. The Fracture Assessment Risk Tool, or FRAX as it is more commonly referred to, was created by the World Health Organization. The desire was to help predict the risk of bone fractures related to osteoporosis within the next 10-year span of a patient’s life. But a recent study from the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine reveals that the FRAX assessment may also be a helpful diagnostic tool for periodontal disease.
A unique study done by researchers at Case Western in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic suggests that postmenopausal women susceptible to bone fractures or bone loss may be at a higher risk for periodontal disease and more likely to have symptoms of severe gum disease. According to Dr. Leena Palomo, DDS, MSD, associate professor of Periodontics and Director of the DMD Periodontics program, the study suggests that this tool is more important to predict women with bone loss who are at a greater risk for gum disease. [Read more…]