Effects of Estrogen Status and Aging on Salivary Flow Rates in Healthy Caucasian Women

Abstract

A comparison of salivary flow rates was made between three groups of female individuals according to their menopausal status. The three groups consisted of healthy, dentate, nonmedicated women (with the exception of the use of estrogen) from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. One group consisted of premenopausal women (n = 51), their mean age was 39 years. Another group (n = 26) was perimenopausal with a mean age of 48 years. A third group (n = 76) was postmenopausal with a mean age of 69 years. The groups were evaluated for unstimulated (U_PAR) and stimulated parotid gland flow rates (S_PAR), unstimulated (U_SUB) and stimulated submandibular/sublingual gland flow rates (S_SUB), and stimulated whole-saliva flow rates (S_WHOLE). The parotid flow rates were determined using a Carlson-Crittenden cup, while the submandibular/sublingual flow rates were determined using the National Institute of Dental Research collector. A 2% citrate solution was used for stimulation in glandular collections. Chewing a 1-cm³ cube of paraffin was used to stimulate whole saliva. The results showed no significant differences in U_PAR, S_PAR, and S_WHOLE between the three groups. However, the premenopausal women had higher U_SUB than the postmenopausal group. The premenopausal women also had higher S_SUB than perimenopausal and postmenopausal groups. There were no differences in salivary flow rates between those taking estrogen and those that were not medicated.

Saliva in perimenopausal and early postmenopausal women. A 2-year follow-up study

“…However, results are contradictory regarding the effect of use of HT on salivary flow rate [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Flow rates have been reported to be higher in perimenopausal women in comparison to postmenopausal women [11].…”

Estrogen receptor-beta is the predominant estrogen receptor subtype in human oral epithelium and salivary glands

“…Similarly, the inorganic and protein composition of saliva changes during the course of pregnancy (Salvolini et al 1998), and in late pregnancy the salivary buffer effect is significantly decreased (Laine & Pienihäkkinen 2000). HRT has been shown to improve the buffering effect of saliva (Laine & Leimola-Virtanen 1996) and, although evidence to the contrary does exist (Streckfus et al 1998, Ghezzi et al 2000, a number of studies (Laine & Leimola-Virtanen 1996, Eliasson et al 2003 have reported an increase in salivary flow rate in association with HRT. Together, these observations suggest that estrogens may play an important role in oral mucosal and salivary gland physiology.…”

Evaluation of salivary gland function in allergic rhinitis patients by [99mTc] pertechnetate salivary gland scintigraphy

“…However, the effectiveness of these methods have been debated because they do not reflect structural abnormalities in most cases [3,17]. On the other hand, salivary gland scintigraphy enables a functional evaluation of the salivary glands, making it a valuable tool.…”