Is there a difference between men’s & women’s oral health? (Part 1)

Men and women share many similarities when it comes to their oral health; they have the same anatomy, gum tissue, and number of teeth. However, there are also differences in oral health between men and women, which stem from biological and social influences. Studies have shown that men are more likely than women to develop gum disease and oral cancer, and that women are more likely than men to go to the dentist. 

While everyone is guilty of occasionally forgetting to brush their teeth or maintain their dental health care routine, is there actually a difference between men’s and women’s oral health? The short answer is: YES. This is because there are many things that are different between what men experience and what women experience when it comes to oral health. 

Here’s a closer look at the factors that make up the differences between men’s oral health and women’s oral health:

 Physical Differences 

There are few discernable physical differences that exist in the mouth when it comes to gender. Research indicates that men and women have anatomical and functional differences. For example, many men have larger oral facial features than women. These may include the mouth, pharynx, and esophagus. These physical differences do not pose any changes to the risks of developing gum disease. In fact, the most significant differences between men’s and women’s oral health are the risks for oral disease and complications related to hormone changes, participation in risky behaviors, and social norms. 

The Hormonal Impact

Hormones send chemical messages that initiate various body systems and functions, and their effect on the body is complicated. These messages control different systems like blood pressure regulation, blood sugar, emotional health, growth and development systems, metabolism, reproductive systems, sex drives and function, and sleep regulation, among others.

These hormonal effects also drive oral health systems. Hormone changes primarily occur in the oral tissues and impact how individual bodily systems receive messages and respond to the information. Specifically, hormonal changes affect the blood supply to the gum tissue. 

In addition to the blood supply to the gums, hormones also affect infection response to oral health toxins. For example, changes in sex hormones can accelerate the progression of gum disease and bone loss. As sex hormones decrease, the sensitivity of interacting cells and growth regulators increases, which disrupts the typical reaction to infection and inflammation. The responsive changes then speed up the bone mass and density loss in the jaw and bone. 

Men experience fewer hormonal impacts than women do as women’s sex hormones directly impact oral health at every age and stage of life, while men experience more indirect effects.

Both men and women can develop osteoporosis during hormone changes, but research shows that osteoporosis affects the jaw and supporting bone of the orofacial structures of men as testosterone decreases.

Since women experience hormonal changes regularly throughout their life stages, they tend to have more acute reactions to hormone changes. For example, the estrogen receptors in a woman’s oral cavity react to changes with estrogen. This can lead to oral health problems like bleeding or sensitive gums, development of early-stage gum disease with increases in estrogen, and dry mouth with decreases in estrogen.

…stay tuned to learn more about risk factors in our next post in this series. These are useful posts to bookmark!