Menopause is a natural part of the aging process for women. Your ovaries stop making as much estrogen and progesterone as they used to, and when your estrogen and progesterone levels drop, lots of changes happen throughout your body. Some of these changes, like hot flashes, are common knowledge, but other changes are less well-known. Surprisingly, menopause even has an effect on your gum tissue. Here's what you need to know about periodontitis.
What is periodontitis?
Periodontitis is an advanced form of gum disease that doesn't just affect the gums, but also the bones, ligaments, and other tissues beneath your teeth. It develops when mild gum disease, also called gingivitis, isn't treated. If your gums are swollen, red or purple and bleed when you touch them or brush your teeth, you may have periodontitis. Other signs are pus leaking out of your gums, bad taste in your mouth, or bad breath.
How does it develop?
Gum disease is caused by not cleaning your teeth well enough. Plaque is left behind on your teeth after you eat, and this plaque contains bacteria. The bacteria in your plaque are very irritating to your gum tissues, and will eventually lead to swelling and an infection. If the condition isn't treated, it will keep getting worse until eventually, you have periodontitis.
How does menopause cause this problem?
Lowered levels of estrogen and progesterone put you at risk of developing periodontitis in a few different ways. Your blood vessels harden and become smaller, which allows less blood to flow to your gums. This decreased flow of blood makes it harder for your gum tissue to heal itself, which gives the bacteria that cause gum disease the advantage.
Progesterone also plays a role in keeping your immune system strong. It stimulates production of some of the cells that fight off inflammation and infection, so when your progesterone levels drop during menopause, the levels of these important immune cells drop as well.
Your gum tissue is made of collagen, and one of estrogen's roles is maintaining and repairing collagen throughout your body. This means that when bacteria attacks your gum tissue, your gums won't be healed as quickly as they would've been when you were younger.
Do all menopausal women develop periodontitis?
Menopause causes a lot of changes in your mouth that make it easier for periodontitis to develop, but that doesn't mean that every single menopausal woman develops severe gum disease. Studies have shown that about 64.4% of menopausal women have periodontitis, compared to 46.3% of pre-menopausal women. Menopausal women who take hormone replacement therapy are no more likely to develop periodontitis than pre-menopausal women are.
Can dentists treat periodontitis?
Dentists treat periodontitis with a deep-cleaning method called scaling and root planing. During this treatment, plaque will be scraped off of your teeth along your gumline, and once that's done, the roots of your teeth will be smoothed to prevent plaque from accumulating there. This deep cleaning gets rid of all the plaque on your teeth and gives your gums a chance to heal.
If deep cleaning isn't enough, you may need to have surgery to remove the infected gum tissue. Once the surgery is finished, you may need to have gum grafts. If this is required for you, gum tissue from other parts of your mouth will be used to replace the gum tissue that was cut away.
Brushing and flossing regularly is important, especially during menopause, when your risk of getting periodontitis is increased. If your gums hurt, you may already have periodontitis, and should see a dental hygiene specialist right away for treatment.
Share