“Jaw Hurts When I have Period” this is one of the most asked question by every girl experiencing toothache during periods. Usually some girls also faces ulcers during periods as a side-effect. Menstruation Gingivitis is another common name used for this ailment.
A lot of women complain of experiencing a toothache during periods. It is a very annoying and disturbing condition to deal with. Sometimes the pain is so intense that you can’t focus on your work. Your hormones are responsible for it. Menstruation can screw up your dental health and cause you toothache and swollen and bleeding gums.
Just like the other menstrual symptoms, dental discomfort is another bizarre way in which your body experiences changes at the time of getting period. You do not need to worry about it. If you are properly flossing and brushing your teeth and still facing issues like toothache and bleeding gums around your menstruation cycle, then your dentist will relate it with normal fluctuations in hormone levels in the body. (1)
3 Steps Solution to Deal With Toothache during Periods
So, now that we have known what causes toothache in menstruation, in what forms can you experience and the exact time of its occurrence in the body, we will now look at what can you do to get relief from this condition. The below ways will help minimize pain, bleeding, and inflammation, at each point in the menstruation cycle.
1. Schedule a cleaning one week later the end of your periods
As the levels of estrogen are high before the periods, it is not the right time to get the oral cleaning. There are chances that it can lead to inflammation and gingival swelling. Wait till your period ends before you plan for an oral cleaning session. Also, during the period, your teeth are extra sensitive to any pain. Due to which you may find cleaning more painful than usual. So, wait till your estrogen levels come down after periods to get oral cleaning.
If you’re experiencing toothache during periods, then wait for professional teeth cleaning.
2. Be very careful about flossing and brushing before your periods.
Without proper oral hygiene like flossing and brushing after your meals, it can cause inflammation and development of gum diseases. Menstruation gingivitis is a painful gum disease whose painful symptoms can worsen two days before the commencement of your periods. To maintain a healthy dental cavity, dentist’s advise people to brush twice daily and floss daily with mouthwash just before the commencement of your periods to keep the gums completely clean.
Moreover, eat a calcium-rich diet to increase bone density, reduce sugar intake, and schedule oral check-ups once every six months to keep your dental cavity clean and safe, specially while having toothache during periods.
3. Perform oral surgery procedures after the end of your periods
For any type of dental surgeries, including root canal, it is best to perform it when your hormone levels are low. As it will help in stopping bleeding that may result from the oral injury. The days right after the periods are safe to perform oral surgeries. Not just the hormone levels are low, but your gums are sensitive to pain. Also, there are lesser chances of inflammation and chances of more comfortable execution of the surgical procedure,
When do hormones fluctuate in a woman’s body?
Women are more susceptible to oral health issues due to the distinctive alterations in hormonal levels that they experience. Hormones not just impact the blood flow to the tissues of the gum but also changes the natural response of the body to the harmful toxins that are formed due to the deposition of plaque on the teeth. Due to these changes, women have higher chances of developing periodontal ailment and oral health issues after reaching a certain stage in their lives.
Some of the major situations in the life of a woman where she experiences intense fluctuations in her hormone levels are puberty, monthly menstrual cycle, taking birth control pills, pregnancy, and menopause. These are the times when they are more likely to develop oral health issues in their body, toothache during periods could be a signal.
Women who are married and expecting can also observe these discomforting changes in their oral cavities. They may also notice that their gums have become swollen or started to bleed easily in pregnancy. This is again due to the fluctuation of hormones in the body.
When a woman is in pregnancy, then her body increases secretion of progesterone hormone that causes an increase in the deposition of plaque on the teeth. They are more likely to suffer from gum disease and so need to take additional care of their dental cavity. Proper cleaning of the oral cavity in pregnancy can help you get relief from toothache during periods. (2)
Why do you experience Toothache during periods?
During menstruation, our body goes through a series of hormonal changes that impact our mental and emotional state too. The fluctuating levels of progesterone and estrogen hormone are responsible for causing dental issues. In addition to tooth pain, it may even lead to bleeding gums in those four to five days of periods.
This adds more discomfort to a woman who experiences several other already painful symptoms in periods along with toothache during periods, such as headache, mood swings, unexplained lethargy, pain in legs and lower back, and of course, excruciating stomach cramps. Let us look logically into this condition and how it happens.
Estrogen, a significant female hormone, works as a vasodilator in the body. This implies that it helps blood vessels to fully open so that more blood flows through them. When its levels alter during periods, then (due to its vasodilator property), you will experience more circulation of blood to the “ends” of the body; this includes vaginal region and mouth.
It has been found that estrogen levels drastically increase in the days and weeks that lead up to menstruation. This also implies that more amount of blood flows in the body. Due to this reason, you will notice the bleeding of gums. If you have been experiencing this problem usually, then during periods, you will notice more than usual bleeding in your gums specifically at the time of flossing and brushing. (3)
How Hormone Fluctuation Causes You Toothache?
When the woman is in her periods, then it results in the changes in hormone levels in her body. These changes are mainly attributed to the rise in progesterone hormone that happens at the time of the menstrual cycle. Well, different women can experience different types of oral changes; some of the commonly experienced symptoms are bright red swollen gums, canker sores, bleeding gums, and swollen salivary glands.
Menstruation gingivitis can occur a or two days before the beginning of the periods. It subsides on its own once the menstruation starts. The gingival tissues have got plenty of estrogen receptors that respond to changes in hormone levels. The severity of the symptoms and toothache during periods that you experience largely depends on your menstrual cycle.
It is medically proven that the changes in the levels of hormones impact oral health in females. Hormones can affect the way in which your body responds to stress. This is the reason that women notice getting more cold sores around their menstruation too. According to health experts, hormones have the ability to slightly alter the mucosal lining in the mouth.
The result is that your mouth fails to produce saliva in the right amounts. This causes tooth pain, soreness, and other discomforts in the mouth. It is advised that people who notice such signs should use a good quality mouthwash (preferably the one that contains hydrogen peroxide) during the days of menstruation. It will significantly help deal with toothache, soreness, and inflammation in the oral cavity.
These dental issues can bring a lot of discomfort to your body. Dental hygiene can help get a little relief from this problem. However, it does not imply that you need to visit the dentist and get the teeth cleanings done just when your menstruation cycle begins.
You can perform regular teeth cleanings once or twice a year but not necessarily because of the toothache that you experience in periods. Schedule your tooth-cleaning after a week of menstruation as due to hormonal changes in the body, your teeth become highly sensitive to pain. So, better book your cleaning appointment a week later after the end of your period.
There is a common conception among women that their tooth will pain a lot, or their gums will bleed at the time of brushing your teeth or flossing. Women who notice toothache or gum bleeding are advised to maintain oral healthcare at home.
At the time of the visit to a dentist to get dental cleaning, they will enquire about how many times a day do you experience a toothache in periods and what is its intensity. They may also check how much does your gum bleed in those days to determine the normal tendency of bleeding. (4)
When Exactly Do You Notice Tooth Starts To Pain In Menstruation?
Menstruation can mess with your oral health. It can happen not just at the time of periods but also before and after your periods. Let us look at both these situations and what types of discomfort you are likely to experience at these stages.
Stage 1: Tooth Pain during menstruation
Do you know what happens at the time of menstruation? To many of you who do not know about it, let me tell you it is the time when the unfertilized egg breaks, and the estrogen and progesterone levels go down in the body. The reason for this reduction in hormone levels is because your body does not require to keep it high to maintain a pregnancy. This leads to the below consequences of oral health.
- Jaw osteoporosis: This condition happens due to a decrease in the “bone-protective” estrogen hormones in the body. When the jaw bone weakens, it causes shortening of bones, and fractures too.
- In addition to osteoporosis, due to the lack of estrogen hormone, you can even experience dryness in the mouth, severe ulcers, abnormal taste sensation, swelling and bleeding of gum tissue, and burning-mouth syndrome.
Stage 2: Tooth pain before and after menstruation
During this time, the body performs two functions: It removes the unused uterine lining and builds up a fresh uterine lining for the following cycle. The process of the development of a new line begins on the last day of the menstruation. For efficient execution of the process, your body requires estrogen and progesterone hormone.
Many women notice that their gums begin to bleed, or the toothache starts just when they floss before their periods. To prevent this situation that finds it helpful to stop flossing. However, relieving it may feel to you, you should not stop brushing your teeth or flossing as both these healthy oral habits help reduce the chances of developing chronic periodontal ailment in the future.
The first that you should do to relieve this situation is to reduce your carbs and sugar intake. This is because inflammation is the major cause of oral issues, and both carbs and sugar contribute to inflammation in the mouth. This is one of the tips that can help ease the discomfort. If you notice that symptoms are worsening, then waste no time and schedule an appointment with your dentist for a thorough oral examination.
As the levels of these hormones rise in the body, they cause an increased flow of blood to the gums. This leads to a reduction in the ability to eliminate toxins and fight off plaque from the body. In this way, it can lead to menstruation gingivitis that is characterized by swollen, sore, red, and bleeding gums. Just when the menstruation starts or right after the end of your periods, these hormones get back to their normal levels in the body. In this way, once the period starts, you will start to get rid of the painful signs of menstruation gingivitis.
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