What Is the Connection between Birth Control & Oral Health?

Present-day women have different choices for birth control to prevent pregnancies. Women have plenty to consider because different brands and products offer varying degrees of hormones and side effects. Women must consider several factors when indulging in birth control, including the costs, side effects, convenience, and the connection between birth control and oral health.

Women go through several stages during their life, including changes in their hormones. The hormones impact changes in the body, mood, emotions, appetite, and women’s overall health. Birth control pills impact a woman’s overall health, including oral health. How are the two connected?

This article provides insight into the connection between birth control and oral health, explaining how hormonal changes are responsible for oral health issues. Please continue reading for more information on this subject.

Do Hormonal Changes Impact Oral Health?

Phases like puberty, pregnancy, PMS, and menopause in women’s lives and have a significant impact on their overall health. Significant fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone can affect oral health because of hormonal level changes in the body. Birth control pills include hormones, and when sizeable fluctuation occurs in the number of hormones in the body, it can adversely affect your health.

The changing hormone levels can bring an inflammatory response from your gums to create symptoms similar to gum disease. When taking birth control pills, the familiar oral health symptoms associated include swollen, bleeding, or sore gums. Gums disease is also related to other health issues, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and some cancers.

Side Effects of Birth Control Pills

As mentioned earlier, birth control pills contain some levels of estrogen and progesterone. Therefore, after starting birth control, you might notice a significant impact of the effect on your body during the first month. For example, you begin experiencing gum disease-like symptoms and an increase in tooth sensitivity because of the significant fluctuations created by the hormone. Therefore, women already having gingivitis or at risk of developing gum disease must inquire with the dental clinic in Vancouver, BC, how the side effects of birth control pills can affect their oral health.

Other Risk Factors to Consider

While on birth control, some lifestyle factors can also affect oral health. There are:

• Smoking: smoking women using birth control are a high risk of many health issues. The health issues include blood clotting, xerostomia, tooth decay, and oral cancer.
• Medications: some medications are ineffective or have harmful interactions with birth control. Therefore women are advised to discuss medical concerns with their healthcare provider and medicines with the dentist near me for advice.
• The Length of Time: Increasing the time and using hormone-based contraceptives increases the risk of developing periodontal disease.

Dealing with the Risks of Good Oral Health

The optimal way to keep your teeth, gums, and mouth healthy when taking birth control pills is to maintain excellent dental hygiene practices at home. For example, spending a few minutes brushing twice daily with a soft-bristled toothbrush and flossing once a day positively affects women’s oral health.

Using an alcohol-free mouthwash also helps clear harmful bacteria from the teeth and mouth from difficult-to-reach areas. In addition, women can consider chewing sugar-free gum between meals to enhance saliva production and wash away food particles in their mouths.

Discussing Medications with the Dentist

Women scheduling routine dental exams and cleanings with their dentist every six months also gain access to dental care tips to keep their teeth, gums, and mouth healthy. In addition, they can discuss all medications they are currently taking with the dentist, including birth control, to understand how it might affect their health. The dentist can suggest how to keep a close watch on your oral health and ensure any prescriptions needed do not have adverse impacts on your teeth and gums.

Many women consider birth-control pills harmless and begin taking them by purchasing medicines from a drugstore. Unfortunately, they realize the after-effects of the drugs only when they develop adverse reactions to the contraceptives and display signs of gum disease because of hormonal changes. Therefore women considering birth control to delay pregnancy must discuss birth control with their dentist before embarking on a journey that can affect their oral and overall health.

Women with concerns about birth control affecting their oral health are suggested to discuss the issue with Enhance Dental Center and learn how they can prevent severe problems with the pills. Women will find the discussion beneficial because it helps them save time and avoid unnecessary complications with their teeth and gums.