The menopause and your dental health

26 June 2017

The menopause and your dental health

Last year we posted a blog entitled Women, Hormones & Dental Health which warned that hormones cause physical changes which can adversely affect teeth and gums, you can view the article by clicking here.

So, you can imagine how interested we were to read that research has suggested Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) could be used to reduce gum disease and prevent tooth loss. As you are probably aware HRT has been used for quite some time in helping women manage a range of menopause-related issues, including hot flushes, heart health and bone density, but this new study could have wide ranging effects for dental health.

The research evaluated nearly 500 women between the ages of 50 and 87, discovered rates of gum disease were significantly lower in those receiving HRT, with many seeing a 44% improvement in gum health.

Our article on gum disease highlights that it is the leading cause of tooth loss in the UK and it is a widely accepted fact that the menopause increases the risk of having it due to a decrease in oestrogen levels.

The research, and namely the fact it may help with dental health, is welcome when you consider more than one in four (28%) post-menopausal women are likely to suffer from tooth loss within five years.

We would advise any of our patients who are currently going through the menopause to pay closer attention than usual to their dental health and book an appointment to see us for a dental health check should you have any concerns.

We will write more blog articles on this topic as we receive more information from the results of the recent study.