Lto Menopause it is expressed through many symptoms, even when it is premature, and can also affect the health of teeth and gums. It is rarely talked about, but it is a very important aspect to consider in the overall health of the woman in her 50s. With the cessation of ovarian activity and the production of estrogen and progesterone, which characterizes menopause, we are witnessing a whole series of changes affecting many organs and systems. These hormones, in fact, carry out their action practically throughout the body.
Menopause symptoms: also pay attention to teeth and gums
The most frequent symptoms of menopause are certainly the hot flashesL’insomnialevel changes moody and some cognitive functions. But there are other ailments, a little less frequent, which in any case can create annoying symptoms and above all compromise a woman’s well-being after menopause.
What is xerostomia
Even the health of the mouth, gums and teeth can be put at risk by hormonal alterations and women often report an extremely annoying and difficult to solve symptom such as xerostomia i.e. the feeling of dry mouth with a reduction in salivation.
In reality, some studies have shown us, by comparing women in menopause and women who were still in the menstrual cycle, that the decrease in estrogen leads to even more complex changes.
Menopause symptoms: drooling
That hormones can affect the mouth is known from the observation that the salivation changes for example with the phase of the cycle or from the increase, sometimes extremely annoying up to the droolingwhich some women experience during pregnancy.
Already in the past many studies had indicated, in confirmation of the symptoms reported by menopausal patients, one reduction in saliva flow which also affected the health of teeth and gums increasing the frequency of caries and of periodontal disorders.
Menopause studies
Confirmation came from a more recent study that compared 40 menopausal women with 40 women who still had their menstrual cycle considering the flow of saliva, the number of teeth lost and the health of the gums and periodontium. The results showed a remarkable decrease in salivary pH and of amount of saliva.
SOURCES: Richa Mishra, Assessment of Effect of Menopause on Saliva and Oral Health Status. J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2021 Nov
Changes before and after menopause
This also explains a significant difference in the physiological changes watch yourself before and after menopause: probably due to the prolonged effect of changes in saliva, postmenopausal women have in fact, a greater number of lost teeth and greater severity of periodontal diseasevisible through the pocket depth that are formed between tooth and gum. The quantity and quality of saliva is in fact essential for keeping teeth and gums healthy.
In menopause, check up with the dentist
Useful it is inform women of these changesinvite them to report the symptom to the referring doctor also because sometimes a reduction in salivation can instead be the cause of autoimmune diseases as the Sjogren’s syndromewhich should be considered in the differential diagnosis.
It is also important that women in menopause undergo regular dental check-ups precisely to prevent problems that may occur in the mouth.
The benefits of hormone replacement therapy
From the point of view of therapy, apart from the use of wetting preparations for the mouth, all that remains is the Hormone Replacement Therapy which by restoring low but sufficient hormone levels to prevent these changes, allows to prevent and, where present, to cure the symptom.
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