Link Between Gum Disease And Women’s Hormones

Link Between Gum Disease and Woman’s Hormones

There is a comprehensive study going on about women’s health today that links gum disease and hormonal issues in women. Women experience hormonal changes all throughout their life: at their puberty when they start their menstrual cycle, during their pregnancy and when they menopause. It is almost a common knowledge that women’s hormones fluctuate all the time all throughout their lifetime.

But, what is not common knowledge is that for every hormonal fluctuation, there is the tendency of a woman’s mouth condition to change and this change allows bacteria to grow more. This can result to bacteria entering the blood stream that will likely bring about health issues in women such as fetal death if she is pregnant, bone lose, preterm births among others.

This study, conducted by Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine Associate Clinical Professor Charlene Kreji, was one of 100 plus studies cited on an article about women’s health that connects hormonal changes in women to her oral health.

Gum Disease Linked To Hormonal Changes

Kreji said that it is not that uncommon for women to have gum problems while they are pregnant and that this should be treated properly. While it is not advisable to have extensive dental work done during pregnancy, women must have their teeth professionally cleaned and if needed scaling and root planning (aka deep cleaning) done during pregnancy to prevent gum problems or treat gum disease. However, surgical procedures for gum disease if needed that are severe may have to wait until after the child’s birth.

This is the reason why women need to be more vigilant on taking care of their teeth. Krejci says on her report that although women tend to take care of their teeth better than men, it is still needed for them to add more effort on what they are doing already as there is a definite association with their hormonal changes and gum disease that is very gender specific. The idea is to lessen if not prevent these health issues in women.

That is why it is not enough to just floss and brush teeth daily. It is best to have a regular checkup and professional cleaning with the dentist twice a year at least to avoid any oral problems that may result to bone loss and tooth loss, not to mention other health issues as mentioned above.

Whether you are pregnant or not, call our office for a periodontal evaluation which includes X-rays and measurement of your gums to check for gum disease and any bone loss. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Gum disease is a silent disease as there is no pain or discomfort associated with it. People in general don’t know they have gum disease unless it is diagnosed by their dentist. Bleeding of the gums during brushing or flossing is one of the signs of gum disease. If your gums bleed, you probably have some type of gum disease. Call us at (323) 771-7254 to catch it early before you start to loose bone.

By: Ladan Zinati