Table 1.

Changes in the oral cavity of menopausal women in terms of parameters of saliva, mucosa, teeth and periodontium.

	Changes Occurring in the Oral Cavity of Menopausal Women
Saliva parameters	Decreased unstimulated and stimulated value of salivary flow rate [26,27,28] Increased concentration of inorganic salivary calcium [22,23,31] Reduced concentration of salivary lysozyme presenting antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activity [31]
Oral mucosa	Reduced hydration of the mucosa, making it thin, atrophic, folded, less elastic and more susceptible to mechanical injuries [14,18] Atrophic changes that can lead to the development of autoimmune changes, such as pemphigus vulgaris, benign mucosal pemphigoid, oral lichen planus, and other disorders, such as idiopathic neuropathy [18,48,49] Increased susceptibility to infections [14,18] Increased tendency to manifest symptoms of BMS [18,48,49,50]
Teeth and periodontium	Increased susceptibility to caries due to reduced salivation [2,14,26,27,28,29] Changes in inflammatory mediators, vascular permeability, and the growth and differentiation of periodontal fibroblasts leading to an increased risk of periodontitis [6,51,52,53] Faster mineralization of dental plaque and increased calculus formation due to a higher concentration of ionized calcium in saliva, which also affects the risk of periodontitis [20,21,32,33] Correlation between the increased risk of osteoporosis in women with estrogen deficiency and periodontitis [54,55,56,57,58]