Beyond pregnancy gingivitis: bringing a new focus to women's oral health

Abstract

The compromised functional status, physical confinement, medical conditions, and cognitive impairments of significant numbers of women have important implications for oral health risk and dental treatments. In addition, there are a variety of economic, social, psychological, and behavioral factors which are operative in placing women at high risk for development of oral diseases. This paper describes the available U.S. data on women's oral health and examines some of the biological, behavioral, and societal factors which may be important for a more comprehensive understanding of this subject. It is this broad array of factors which differentiate women from men and which should be considered when defining priority research and treatment issues for women's oral health.