Periodontal aspects in menopausal women undergoing hormone replacement therapy.
OBJECTIVE
Currently, an important number of women use HRT to control their hormonal problems during menopause. A large percentage of these have problems at periodontal level. The present study aims at examining the effects that menopause, due to a decline in the synthesis of hormones, mainly of estrogens, can cause on the oral dental health of such women; in particular on the characteristics of the gingiva and periodontium, checking whether characteristics such as gingival recession, pain, tooth mobility and periodontal pocket formation might permit physicians to evaluate the degree of bone loss in menopausal woman.


METHODS
Menopausal women aged 40 to 58 years of age undergoing hormone replacement therapy that had gingival periodontal disturbances. The total population of the study comprised 210 patients, divided into two groups. One group received HRT administered in patches and the other group did not receive this therapy.


METHODS
Gynecologic and odonto-stomatologic protocols were established for data collection. In order to assess the efficacy of the treatment a descriptive statistical study for sociodemographic variables, analysis of variance, McNemar's test and the Stuart-Maxwell test were performed.


RESULTS
The mean age of the patients studied was 49.6 years. HRT acts as a protective factor in dental pain and improves tooth mobility and depth of the probing of periodontal pockets. With respect to the variable gingival recession, no significant results were found either for the group not receiving HRT or for the group being treated with patches.


CONCLUSIONS
The response to the HR therapy in periodontal disease is probably due to the existence of estrogen receptors localized in the gingiva and in the periodontal ligament.
López-Marcos
Joaquín Francisco
JF
Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Universidad de Salamanca. jflmarcos@usal.es
García-Valle
Silvia
S
García-Iglesias
Angel Agustín
AA
D000328:Adult; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000503:physiopathology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004967:Estrogens / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000188:drug therapy; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000502:physiology; D014086:Tooth Mobility / Q000188:drug therapy
D004967:Estrogens; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen