The Relationship of Mandibular Bone Density Level to Femur Bone Density Level in Ovariectomized Female Rats given Isoflavones and 17-estradiol

Abstract

Abstract-Osteoporosis is a multifactorial disease, and the most common type of osteoporosis is involutional osteoporosis associated with aging and menopause. Estrogen deficiency in menopause and post-menopause is a major pathogenic factor in bone loss. Osteoporosis in the skeletal bone of the body also occurs in the mandible bone. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between mandibular bone density level and femoral bone density level in ovariectomized female rats either given estrogen or phytoestrogen therapy or not given any replacement therapy. The subject of this study was a 12-month-old Sprague Dawley female rat which was ovariectomized with 50-days study duration. Examination of bone density was based on the grayscale values of digital radiographs in pixels. Pearson correlation test showed that there was a strong correlation between mandibular and femoral neck (r = 0.593); mandibular with major trochanter (r = 0.576) and mandibular with Ward's triangle (r = 0.655). There is a strong correlation between mandibular bone density levels and femoral bone density levels in the femoral neck area, major trochanter and Ward's triangle in ovariectomized rats.