General Sex/Gender Differences

BMS is a condition that affects more women than men. 3 There is increasing awareness of the sex/gender differences that affect both health and disease. For example, it is now commonly known that pregnancy, the menstrual cycle, and menopause affect not only a woman’s reproductive system, but also her oral soft tissues and alveolar bone. There are also sex/gender differences in dental patterns, perhaps because women access oral health care differently than men.9 Women also react to health promotion actions in a more positive manner than men. Because women live longer, they are more likely to take medications for chronic conditions that may complicate oral health treatment and contribute to BMS.9

Although facial pain and arthromyalgia (tempromandibular joint dysfunction) pain are common in both women and men, women seek treatment much more frequently.9 BMS is especially common among postmenopausal and elderly women.11

The purpose of a study by Ben Aryeh et al. was to evaluate oral complaints related to menopause, including BMS. The intent was to correlate oral and systemic symptoms of menopause and the oral health and salivary composition and flow rate in a group of women in menopause before initiation of hormone replacement therapy.11 Two groups of women participated in the study, one without any systemic disease or treatments and another with diseases for which they were taking various medications. The salivary composition and flow rates did not differ significantly between the groups. However, the salivary total protein and IgA concentrations of both were significantly higher in comparison to healthy young controls. The conclusion was that a high prevalence of oral discomfort was present in this group of women who attended a menopause clinic.11 The altered salivary composition in these women may be attributed to sympathetic activation related to psychological stress.11