Menopause: when a woman’s mouth needs more care During this stage, the reduction of certain hormones makes oral health more fragile. In Spain, the average age of menopause is 51 years, and it does not come alone… It brings with it symptoms that are reflected throughout the woman’s body, including the mouth, which may present alterations in its tissues, a lower secretion of saliva and certain disorders in the oral flora.<\/p>\n
All this because with the arrival of menopause, the ovaries reduce the levels of estrogen production, which until now offered anti-inflammatory protection to the gums, and progesterone, the absence of which facilitates the appearance of osteoporosis.<\/p>\n
During this stage of life, women must take special care of their oral health, which is why it is important for them to know what the main threats to their mouth will be.<\/p>\n
By knowing them, you will know how to prevent them.<\/p>\n
Weaker gums The reduction in hormones makes the gums more susceptible to inflammatory diseases, such as gingivitis and periodontitis.<\/p>\n
The most common are: \u00b7 Atrophic or desquamative gingivitis, characterized by reddened gums that can cause pain. \u00b7 Postmenopausal gingivostomatitis, the gums become shiny and dry, bleed easily and are pale to reddish in color. <\/p>\n
Dry mouth and cavities The salivary glands decrease the production of saliva, which causes xerostomia or dry mouth symptom, which also tends to be exacerbated by the consumption of certain medications.<\/p>\n
As a result, the woman may experience difficulty chewing, swallowing or speaking, dry mouth, cracks in the corners of the mouth, bad breath… In addition, the decrease in saliva, which until now had offered extra protection to the mouth, increases the risk of suffering from cavities, especially in the areas of the tooth closest to the root (root caries).<\/p>\n
Burning mouth syndrome Causes a sensation of intense burning, stinging and stinging, especially on the tongue.<\/p>\n
It mostly affects postmenopausal women.<\/p>\n
The decalcification disorders that can occur in menopausal women have little impact on the jaw bones.<\/p>\n
However, some women with osteoporosis take a group of medications called bisphosphonates orally or intravenously, which involve a clear risk of a disease called “osteonecrosis of the jaws” after undergoing treatments such as periodontal scaling or oral surgery.<\/p>\n
In these cases it is very important to inform the dentist so that he can take the appropriate preventive measures.<\/p>\n
Although menopause makes a woman’s mouth more susceptible to certain pathologies, this does not mean that we cannot prevent them.<\/p>\n
The key to achieving this is to maintain low levels of bacterial plaque, which we can achieve with good daily oral hygiene, increasing our intake of water, fruit and vegetables and reducing as much as possible medications that can cause dry mouth.<\/p>\n
This, combined with regular visits to the dentist, will ensure that our smile continues to shine without losing its health, functionality and aesthetics. + info: How hormones affect a woman’s mouth <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categoria":[67],"class_list":["post-2811","actualitat","type-actualitat","status-publish","hentry","categoria-salut-bucodental"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualitat\/2811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualitat"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/actualitat"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"categoria","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clinicacervera.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categoria?post=2811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}