How Menopause Negatively Affects Your Oral Health

Menopause can have several effects on your body, including mood swings, hot flashes and difficulty sleeping. One effect many people don’t know about is its impact on oral health. Fluctuating hormone levels cause oestrogen levels to decrease, which can lead to sensitive teeth, painful gums and other issues – including changes to taste, and a lesser-known condition called burning mouth syndrome.

How Menopause Affects Your Oral Health

The decrease in oestrogen during menopause and perimenopause can lead to several changes in your mouth, including changed taste, burning mouth syndrome, sensitive teeth and inflammation of your gums.

Changed Taste

Menopausal changes caused by hormonal fluctuation can lead to a change in the way food tastes to you. Salty, sour or peppery foods may begin to bother you more than they had before, or some foods can begin to taste metallic or bitter.

Burning Mouth Syndrome

In some cases, burning mouth syndrome (BMS) can accompany these changes to taste. As you’d expect, BMS leads to painful burning and tenderness in and around the mouth.

Sensitive Teeth

Tooth sensitivity occurs after drinking or eating hot and cold food or drinks, leading to uncomfortable pain in your teeth. Loss of the protective enamel and cementum coatings of your dentin (the inner part of your teeth) leaves the nerves within your teeth exposed, leading to pain and discomfort when you consume cold, hot or acidic foods.

Inflammation Of Your Gums

Menopausal gingivostomatitis is another oral health condition related to menopause that causes gum inflammation. Besides gum swelling, you may notice your gums become pale, shiny or deep red, and they may also bleed easily, especially when you brush or floss.

What Are The Causes?

Menopausal tooth pain can be related to hormonal and age-related reasons, such as thinning mouth tissues, dry mouth and osteoporosis.

Thinning Mouth Tissues

When your oestrogen levels decrease, the oral mucosal epithelium may also become thinner, which can make your mouth more susceptible to pain and infections.

Dry Mouth

Your saliva glands rely on hormones to maintain saliva production in your mouth. Decreasing oestrogen levels during menopause can reduce saliva, causing dry mouth, which can make it painful to swallow foods and liquids and can also contribute to tooth decay. Other issues common with dry mouth include mouth ulcers, sore gums, gum sensitivity, cavities and an increased risk of infection.

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis caused by decreased oestrogen levels is common in postmenopausal people, leading to weaker bones that are more susceptible to breaking. While many people think of osteoporosis in relation to other parts of the body, it affects your mouth too – jaw recession is common for people with osteoporosis, which can lead to a decrease in gum size and tooth loss.

How To Prevent Menopausal Oral Health Problems

Even though changes in your hormone levels can lead to changes in your mouth, that doesn’t mean they have to cause problems with your teeth and gums. If you experience any of the oral health changes mentioned in this article, it’s important to see a dentist so they can recommend procedures or products to address them. On top of this, we recommend that you:

• Get regular check-ups and cleanings from your dentist twice a year
• Brush your teeth twice a day
• Floss regularly
• Use sensitive toothpaste to help protect the nerves in your teeth
• Use moisturising rinses or sprays to treat dry mouth
• Supplement with bone-supporting nutrients such as vitamin D or calcium

Changes to your lifestyle can also help maintain your oral health – cutting out smoking and reducing sugary food and drink both make a difference, and for people with dry mouth, cutting back on alcohol and caffeine may help too. Get in touch if you’d like to talk through any of these changes with our team.