Women tend to produce significantly less saliva than men, making them more susceptible to certain oral health conditions and negatively impacting their quality of life, according to researchers from the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine (UConn). The differences, which have been largely ignored until now, should be taken into account when treating oral health conditions in both men and women to prevent them from reaching critically low levels.
Dr. Rajesh Lalla, professor and associate dean for research at the School of Dentistry, noted differences in salivary flow between men and women who were being treated for head and neck cancer. Xerostomia is a common side effect of radiation.
The study, funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, involved 572 patients from six clinics. Lalla and his colleagues were surprised to find that women in the study had significantly lower salivary flow stimulation than men, both before and after radiation therapy. The same standard of values are applied to both men and women when interpreting salivary flow test results. Insufficient salivary flow increases the risk of developing certain oral diseases, including dental caries, periodontitis, tooth loss, and candidiasis.
Intrigued by the results, Lalla looked at previous studies and found that indeed, previous studies have reported lower salivary flow in women in other populations and age groups, supporting the fact that women have lower salivary flow than men and this is not limited exclusively to head and neck cancer patients.
Although this finding has not been fully reflected in the research, it is time to acknowledge the differences and begin treating patients who may have a reduced quality of life due to the adverse effects of xerostomia. As Lalla writes in a university news article, differences in salivary flow between men and women have not been adequately assessed. Although the exact reason for this difference is not fully known, it is thought that it may be related to the size of the salivary glands in men and women.
As research is conducted to specifically explain differences in salivary flow, clinicians should first be aware that when salivary flow reaches critically low levels, women are predisposed to dental caries, tooth loss, and other oral diseases. Second, these differences should be taken into account when treating women for certain oral diseases.
“… women and men have significantly different levels of normal salivary flow. This should be taken into account when testing salivary flow in clinical practice and research. These findings also suggest that because women have lower normal salivary flow overall, they may be at higher risk of reaching critically low levels in situations where normal saliva production is reduced,” Lalla said.