Gum inflammation increases during ovulation

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Gum inflammation increases during ovulation

Last Updated: 2004-04-01 16:06:56 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who notice higher amounts of gum

inflammation during certain times of the month are not imagining things,

new research shows.

Investigators found that women tend to have higher levels of gum

inflammation while ovulating, and the inflammation tends to decrease

during the days before their period, and then fall even further while

they are menstruating.

Whether or not these changes in inflammation are significant enough to

advise women to brush gingerly or avoid certain foods during certain

stages of their menstrual cycles remains unclear, according to Dr.

Rethman, practicing periodontist and president of the American

Academy of Periodontology, who was not involved in the research.

During the study, Dr. Eli Machtei of the Rambam Medical Center and

Technion Faculty of Medicine in Israel and associates followed 15 women

between the ages of 20 and 50 who scheduled teeth-cleaning visits

several times per year. Each visit coincided with a different point in

their menstrual cycles.

As reported in the Journal of Periodontology, gum inflammation

fluctuated with the menstrual cycle, but the amount of plaque and other

indicators of gum health did not.

Women tended to report more oral discomfort during the days before or

while menstruating - right around the time that their gum inflammation

was decreasing, note the authors.

In an interview with Reuters Health, Rethman explained that most gum

problems produce no symptoms, so many women would likely not notice if

their gums had become slightly more inflamed.

He added that some women may simply have a " heightened awareness " of

their bodies while menstruating, causing them to report more gum

symptoms in the days before and during their periods.

Rethman noted that women's hormones fluctuate over the course of the

month, and these dips and peaks may influence gum inflammation through

their effects on blood vessels, white blood cells or the immune system.

SOURCE: Journal of Periodontology, March 2004.

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