Are statins associated with decreased tooth loss in chronic periodontitis

Abstract

AIM: To evaluate whether statin use was associated with decreased tooth loss among patients with chronic periodontitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We evaluated administrative health plan data from 1996 to 2002 covering dental and periodontal treatment utilization, dental extractions, and prescription medication fills of 12,631 adults aged 48-64 in 2002. With tooth loss as the outcome, we evaluated a number of different patterns of statin prescription across time in multivariate generalized linear models. RESULTS: Unadjusted, statin use was associated with increased tooth loss. After adjustment for potential confounders, there was no suggestion of either increased or decreased tooth loss associated with statin use. CONCLUSIONS: Statin use was not associated with either a decreased or an increased risk of tooth loss.