Oral Disorders and Serum Oestrogen Levels in Postmenopausal Women in Lagos, Nigeria

Changes in hormonal levels during puberty, pregnancy, menstruation, and menopause have varying effects on the oral cavity. Several mucosal disorders manifest in the oral cavity of postmenopausal women partly due to a decrease in oestrogen and progesterone level which are significant. The aim of this study was to determine the oral disorders associated with serum blood oestrogen levels in Nigerian postmenopausal women.

A cross-sectional analytical study at the Oral Diagnosis and Oral Medicine clinics in a large tertiary hospital in Lagos, Nigeria between June 2019 and December 2019 involving 35 postmenopausal and 35 premenopausal women within the ages of 40 to 60 years. The prevalence of oral disorders such as hyposalivation, burning mouth sensation, and periodontitis in pre and postmenopausal women was determined, likewise the association between oral disorders and blood oestrogen levels.

The mean age of the postmenopausal women was 53.2 ± 5.6 years and premenopausal women was 46.4 ± 4.0 years. Chronic periodontitis was the most prevalent oral disorder in 19(54.3%) postmenopausal women followed by hyposalivation 5(14.3%) compared with 13(37.1%) and 2(5.7%) respectively in premenopausal women. All postmenopausal women who had chronic periodontitis 19(100%) had relatively high oestradiol levels compared with 5(38.5%) premenopausal women.

There was no statistically significant association between oral disorders and blood oestrogen levels.