Associations of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug use with periodontal disease in postmenopausal women: The OsteoPerio study

Periodontal disease, a common condition characterizing poor oral health, can worsen over time due to the body's inflammatory response, which damages the tissues supporting teeth. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like aspirin, can reduce inflammation, but whether they have any role in preventing periodontal disease has not been well-studied. We explored this connection in more than 1,300 postmenopausal women from the Buffalo OsteoPerio Study, tracking their oral health over 5 years. At the start, nearly half of the women reported using NSAIDs, mostly aspirin. While NSAID users and nonusers had similar gum health at the beginning, we found that women who used NSAIDs had a 37% lower odds of losing the bone that supports their teeth over the next 5 years. This protective association remained even after accounting for age, lifestyle, medical conditions, and dental care habits. However, NSAID use was not associated with other measures of oral health, like gum bleeding, pocket depth around teeth, or tooth loss. These findings suggest that NSAIDs may help slow some aspects of periodontal disease progression, but their overall effects on oral health remain unclear. Understanding how common medications like NSAIDs affect oral health could guide strategies to protect against gum disease in older adults.