Dental health was found to be a risk indicator of death due to CVD, especially in combination with another risk factor, smoking habits.

The results support the hypothesis that smoking is a significant risk factor of periodontal disease.

Abrasion lesions were recorded in 818 individuals representing the adult population of 430,000 residents of the Stockholm region, Sweden. The subjects were asked about toothbrushing habits, toothbrush quality and dentifrice usage; these factors were related to abrasion criteria. Abrasion was prevalent in 30% and wedge-like or deep depressions were observed in 12%. The relationship between abrasion and toothbrushing was evident, the prevalence and severity of abrasion being correlated to toothbrushing consumption. The importance of the toothbrushing technique for the development of abrasion lesions was elucidated. Horizontal brushing technique was strongly correlated to abrasion. It was demonstrated by treating the data with the statistical AID analysis that toothbrushing factors related to the individual (brushing frequency and brushing technique) exert a greater influence than material-oriented toothbrushing factor such as dentifrice abrasivity and bristle stiffness.

Poor oral health was found to be a risk indicator of all-cause mortality. The lack of specificity of the associations between oral health and mortality strengthens the hypothesis that the significant correlations could be explained by not identified confounding factors.

Four hundred and six individuals from an unselected sample from the County of Stockholm aged 18-65 years in 1970 were examined radiographically in 1970 and 1980. The differences in proximal alveolar bone height were recorded, attention being paid to the divergences in projection between the two investigations. The mean of the alveolar bone difference was 5.5% of the mean root length, which corresponds to an average annual bone loss of 0.09 mm. Ninety per cent of the individuals had a difference in alveolar bone height of less than 10% of the root length--that is, an average bone loss of 1.6 mm or less during 10 years. By linear regression analysis it was shown that the difference in alveolar bone height is a function of the initial bone loss; that is, the greater the initial bone loss, the greater the alveolar bone loss during the 10-year period. The result of the regression analysis may facilitate predictions of alveolar bone loss.