Osteoporosis is a progressive disease that first presents with the development of osteopenia, a thinning of the bones. Over time, a patient with the disorder is prone to suffering fractures due to bone structure that has become increasingly weak and brittle. It is common among women, especially after menopause. Osteoporosis is often underdiagnosed due to the costs of current methods to detect the condition.

Dental x-rays, on the other hand, are common and relatively inexpensive. They are taken during a variety of dental examinations and may be used to detect decay under existing fillings or other dental restorations, or abnormalities such as cysts, abscesses and tumors. Infections, gum disease, and injuries to the teeth or jaw can also be diagnosed with x-rays.

In an attempt to make further use of these common imaging tests, an international team of researchers developed software that uses "active shape modeling" technology to automatically detect areas of thin bone in the jaw. Such thinning of the jawbone is a key indicator of osteoporosis.

When the new software detects thin areas in the jawbone, it automatically alerts the dentist. The dentist can then refer the patient to a specialist for conclusive testing for osteoporosis.

"This cheap, simple and largely automated approach could be carried out by every dentist taking routine x-rays," said Professor Keith Horner of the University of Manchester, in a press release, "yet the success rate is as good as having a specialist consultant on hand."

This study was published in the online version of the journal Bone.

Copyright 2007 iVillage Total Health