Why Do Women Get More Cavities Than Men?

SOURCE: Medical News Today

DATE:  October 15, 2008

EXCERPT:  "Reproduction pressures and rising fertility explain why women suffered a more rapid decline in dental health than did men as humans transitioned from hunter-and-gatherers to farmers and more sedentary pursuits .... [based on] a comprehensive review of records of the frequencies of dental cavities in both prehistoric and living human populations from research done around the world. A driving factor was dramatic changes in female-specific hormones ..."    more

RELATED PUBMED LINK:

Lukacs JR, Largaespada LL. Abstract. Explaining sex differences in dental caries prevalence: saliva, hormones, and "life-history" etiologies. Am J Hum Biol. 2006 Jul-Aug;18(4):540-55. Review.