According to a new study, it may now be possible to predict who is at risk for fracturing a bone elsewhere in the body by looking at the person's dental x-rays. The researchers at the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy and Region Vstra Gtaland reported these new findings to the journal Nature Reviews Endocrinology. The ability to predict bone fractures comes to us because of previous work done by the researchers, which they then used to come to these new conclusions.
According to another older study done by this same team, researchers discovered a correlation between what they called sparse bone structure of the trabecular bone, a bone in the lower jaw, and fractures in other parts of the body. According to the research, patients who had previously had fractures elsewhere more often than not also had this sparse bone structure.
The researchers at this University now want to take those findings a ste further and conduct even more research on the matter to determine the reason for this correlation. In the newer study the researchers looked at the bone structure in the lower jaw and were able to see that those who had the sparse bone structure were more likely to be affected by future fractures.