Women and Periodontal Health

The hormonal changes that women experience during puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause can influence their chances of obtaining periodontal disease. It’s important to be aware of this and take extra care of your oral health during these times. Higson Dental Group can help.

Puberty

With the production of sex hormones during puberty, the increase in hormone levels can cause gum sensitivity and irritation. As a result, you may experience swollen, red and tender gums.

Menstruation

A few days before menstruation, that gum sensitivity may return. Symptoms in and around the gums may occur such as bleeding, redness, and swelling. As well, you may notice sores on the inside of the cheek. Fortunately, these irritations should clear up once your period begins.

Pregnancy

Periodontal care is very important during pregnancy. Hormone levels fluctuate, and between the second and eighth month may cause swelling gums, redness, tenderness and possible bleeding. Some women may react to local irritants and develop painless, yet large lumps. These growths often disappear on their own or may need our assistance to remove them. In any case, always seek professional advice as any untreated infection during pregnancy could harm the baby. Visit mind-body connection pregnancy for more information.

Oral Contraceptives

Oral contraceptives are synthetic hormones and can cause the same irritating symptoms of gum swelling, bleeding, and tenderness. Before your treatment, please let us know about any medications, including oral contraceptives. Not only will that give us a full scope of what you may be experiencing, it will reduce the risk of dangerous drug interactions that can impact the effectiveness of the medication. For example, certain antibiotics lower the effectiveness of contraceptives.

Menopause

Many changes will occur in your body during menopause. Your mouth may begin to look and feel different, including pain and burning in your gum tissue, salty, peppery and sour tastes and dry mouth. We can help relieve many of these symptoms with professional teeth cleaning to freshen the mouth and a saliva substitutes to treat the dryness.