Why do women get more cavities than men?

Lukacs' meta-analysis looked at both prehistoric anthropological and modern health records. He repeatedly found that increases in cavities go in favor of women in adulthood. Lukacs' review found that women's higher rates of cavities are influenced by three main changes:

• Female sex hormones. Citing his own research published in 2006, he notes that these hormones and associated physiological factors can significantly impact cavity formation. A study on animals published in 1954 found that female estrogens, but not male androgens, were correlated to cavity rates. He argues for a cumulative effect of estrogens, including fluctuations at puberty and high levels during pregnancy that both promote cavities and dietary changes.

• The biochemical composition and flow rate of saliva. Women produce less saliva than do men, reducing the removal of food residue from the teeth, and that during pregnancies the chemical composition changes, reducing saliva's antimicrobial capacity.

• Food cravings, immune response and aversions during pregnancy. Lukacs points to findings that women crave high-energy, sweet foods during the third trimester, as well as an aversion to meat in first trimesters.

How the factors combine to contribute to higher risk of cavities in women as they age is not fully documented or understood, he wrote. "However, if hormonal and physiological factors work in an independent or additive manner, their impact on women's oral health could be significant. The fact that women's caries experience increases with age at a greater rate than men's in diverse ethnic groups from different ecological and cultural settings supports this interpretation."

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, American Institute of Indian Studies, American Philosophical Society, L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, National Geographic Society, National Science Foundation and Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research supported the project.

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Source: John R. Lukacs, professor of anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, 541-346-5112,

Links:

Lukacs faculty page:
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~jrlukacs/Dr.%20John%20R.%20Lukacs%20Website/index.html;

department of anthropology:
http://www.uoregon.edu/~anthro/;

College of Arts and Sciences:
http://cas.uoregon.edu