Changes in the Oral Cavity in Menopausal Women—A Narrative Review

Aleksandra Ciesielska, Aida Kusiak, Agata Ossowska and Magdalena Emilia Grzybowska
Additional contact information
Aleksandra Ciesielska: Department of Periodontology and Oral Mucosa Diseases, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-204 Gdansk, Poland
Aida Kusiak: Department of Periodontology and Oral Mucosa Diseases, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-204 Gdansk, Poland
Agata Ossowska: Department of Periodontology and Oral Mucosa Diseases, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-204 Gdansk, Poland
Magdalena Emilia Grzybowska: Department of Gynecology, Gynecological Oncology and Gynecological Endocrinology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-204 Gdansk, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Oral health awareness during the menopausal period is essential to minimize the inevitable inconveniences which may occur due to hormonal changes. The decrease in estrogen hormone concentration impacts the oral mucosa in a similar way to the vaginal mucosa due to the presence of estrogen receptors in both of these structures. An estrogen deficiency also affects the maturation process of the oral mucosal epithelium and can lead to its thinning and atrophy, making it more susceptible to local mechanical injuries, causing a change in pain tolerance and problems in the use of removable prosthetic restorations. Mucosal epithelium during the menopausal period is more vulnerable to infections, candidiasis , burning mouth syndrome, oral lichen planus (OLP), or idiopathic neuropathy. Moreover, salivary glands are also hormone-dependent which leads to changes in saliva secretion and its consistency. In consequence, it may affect teeth and periodontal tissues, resulting in an increased risk of caries and periodontal disease in menopausal women. Due to the large variety of complaints and symptoms occurring in the oral cavity, menopausal women constitute a significant group of patients who should receive special preventive and therapeutic care from doctors and dentists in this particular period.

Keywords: menopausal women; menopause; oral health; saliva; oral mucosa; periodontitis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/1/253/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/1/253/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2021:i:1:p:253-:d:711751

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().