For Publishers
DiscoveryMetadataPeer reviewHostingPublishing
For Researchers
JoinPublishReviewCollect
Register
Blog
About
Search
Advanced search
My ScienceOpen
Search
For Publishers
For Researchers
Blog
About
46
views
17
references
 Top references
cited by
49
    
0 reviews
 Review
0
comments
 Comment
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      319
      similar
       All similar
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Explaining Gender Differences in Caries: A Multifactorial Approach to a Multifactorial Disease

      review-article
      Author(s): , *
      Publication date (Electronic):
      Journal: International Journal of Dentistry
      Publisher: Hindawi Publishing Corporation

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPMC
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Many studies have demonstrated that caries rates are higher in women than in men. This review attempts to provide an explanation for this trend by examining each factor which contributes to caries and how the factor differs in men and women. Evidence has been provided to demonstrate that caries risk factors for women include a different salivary composition and flow rate, hormonal fluctuations, dietary habits, genetic variations, and particular social roles among their family. Systemic diseases that have been found to be associated with caries have also been found to have an association with the female gender. An extended exposure to the oral cavity or a more cariogenic oral microflora has not been proven to contribute to higher caries in women. Further research in these areas could be done in the future to explain their contribution, or lack thereof, to a higher caries rate in women.

          Related collections

          Most cited references17

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Explaining sex differences in dental caries prevalence: saliva, hormones, and "life-history" etiologies.

          John Lukacs, Leah Largaespada (2006)
          When dental caries rates are reported by sex, females are typically found to exhibit higher prevalence rates than males. This finding is generally true for diverse cultures with different subsistence systems and for a wide range of chronological periods. Exceptions exist, but are not common. In this paper, we present new data for sex differences in dental caries rates among the Guanches (Tenerife, Canary Islands), summarize results of meta-analyses of dental caries prevalence, and emphasize new research that stresses the critical role of female hormones and life-history events in the etiology of dental caries. Among the Guanches, corrected tooth-count caries rates for females (8.8%, 158/1,790) are approximately twice the frequency of caries among males (4.5%, 68/1,498). Higher caries prevalence among females is often explained by one of three factors: 1) earlier eruption of teeth in girls, hence longer exposure of girls' teeth to the cariogenic oral environment, 2) easier access to food supplies by women and frequent snacking during food preparation, and 3) pregnancy. Anthropologists tend to favor explanations involving behavior, including sexual division of labor and women's domestic role in food production. By contrast, the causal pathways through which pregnancy contributes to poorer oral health and higher caries rates are deemphasized or discounted. This paper presents recent research on physiological changes associated with fluctuating hormone levels during individual life histories, and the impact these changes have on the oral health of women. The biochemical composition of saliva and overall saliva flow rate are modified in several important ways by hormonal fluctuations during events such as puberty, menstruation, and pregnancy, making the oral environment significantly more cariogenic for women than for men. These results suggest that hormonal fluctuations can have a dramatic effect on the oral health of women, and constitute an important causal factor in explaining sex differences in caries rates.
          Article 0 comments Cited 113 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            Flow rates of resting whole and stimulated parotid saliva in relation to age and gender.

            R. Percival, S Challacombe, Anthony Marsh (1994)
            Dry mouth is a common feature in the elderly, but it is not clear what proportion of incidences are related to functional disturbances and whether age per se and gender play a role. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of age and gender on salivary flow rates. The effect of age on unstimulated (resting) whole and stimulated parotid saliva flow rates was determined in 116 unmedicated, healthy individuals. The subjects were divided into four age groups: 20-39 years (group A), 40-59 years (group B), 60-79 years (group C), and 80 years and over (group D). A significant decrease in the secretion rates of unstimulated whole saliva in relation to age was observed in the study population (p < 0.001). However, the flow rates of stimulated parotid saliva were not significantly different in the four age groups. Females had significantly lower mean flow rates than males for both unstimulated (resting) whole saliva (p < 0.005) and stimulated parotid saliva (p < 0.05). In the study as a whole, significant negative correlations were found between either the DMF index (decayed, missing, and filled teeth) or the DMFS index (decayed, missing, and filled tooth surfaces) and the flow rates of unstimulated whole saliva (p < 0.02), but no relationship to stimulated parotid saliva flow rates was apparent. The results suggest that elderly subjects have no impairment in their ability to respond to sialogogues but that resting saliva rates are significantly lower than in younger individuals and may contribute to the increase in oral mucosal diseases seen in the elderly.
            Article 0 comments Cited 61 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Enamel formation genes are associated with high caries experience in Turkish children.

              M. J. Cooper, M Yildirim, F Seymen … (2007)
              There is evidence for a genetic component in caries susceptibility, and studies in humans have suggested that variation in enamel formation genes and their interaction with Streptococcus mutans levels may contribute to caries. For the present study, we used DNA samples collected from 173 unrelated children from Istanbul: 91 children with 4 or more affected tooth surfaces and 82 caries-free children. Six single-nucleotide polymorphism markers were genotyped in selected candidate genes (ameloblastin, amelogenin, enamelin, tuftelin 1 and tuftelin interacting protein 11) that influence enamel formation. Allele and genotype frequencies were compared between groups with distinct caries experience. Regression analysis was used for the evaluation of individual gene effects, environmental effects and gene-environment interactions. Overrepresentation of the C allele of the amelogenin marker was seen in cases with dmft scores higher than 8 (p = 0.01) when compared to controls. Also, overrepresentation of the T allele of the ameloblastin marker was seen in cases with dmfs scores higher than 10 (p = 0.05) when compared to controls. In addition, the CT genotype of the tuftelin rs3790506 marker was overrepresented in cases with dmft scores higher than 5 (p = 0.05) and dmfs scores higher than 6 (p = 0.05) compared to controls. The best-fitting model showed that dmfs is increased when the following factors are present: (1) females and both the anterior and posterior teeth are affected simultaneously, (2) when the T allele of the tuftelin rs3790506 is involved, and (3) the C allele of the amelogenin rs17878486 is involved. Our study provides support that genes involved in enamel formation modify caries susceptibility in humans. Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.
              Article 0 comments Cited 44 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
                Bookmark
                All references

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Dent
                Journal ID (publisher-id): IJD
                Title: International Journal of Dentistry
                Publisher: Hindawi Publishing Corporation
                ISSN (Print): 1687-8728
                ISSN (Electronic): 1687-8736
                Publication date (Print): 2010
                Publication date (Electronic): 16 March 2010
                Volume: 2010
                Electronic Location Identifier: 649643
                Affiliations
                Department of Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
                Author notes
                *Alexandre R. Vieira: arv11@ 123456pitt.edu

                Academic Editor: Figen Seymen

                Article
                DOI: 10.1155/2010/649643
                PMC ID: 2840374
                PubMed ID: 20339488
                SO-VID: 74fc0408-0e34-4e16-a670-219b041efcbd
                Copyright © Copyright © 2010 M. Ferraro and A. R. Vieira.
                License:

                This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                Date received : 31 October 2009
                Date accepted : 18 February 2010
                Categories
                Subject: Review Article

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Dentistry
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Dentistry

                Comments

                Comment on this article

                scite_

                Similar content319

                See all similar

                Cited by49

                See all cited by

                Most referenced authors131

                See all reference authors