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[Machair]

After 15 years and no dental work my luck just ran out, and I have decay under an old inlay. Anyone else having dental issues co-inciding with menopause. I hope this isn't the start of something as I hate dental surgeries. Two appointments now sit like black dark storms on my calendar!
.

[CLKD]

However: dental practices have improved a LOT in the last 5 years.  Make a list of your worries to take to your appt. B4 the work begins.  As oestrogen levels drop muscles become lax which includes the dental line.  It's the reason apparently why I dribble at night  .

What has your Dentist suggested as treatment?

[Machair]

CLKD he is going to remove inlay, drill out troubled area, and see what remains then make plan.  At least it will be done and over before hols in late May.  It should prevent an emergency toothache which might have happened otherwise. It could be worse so looking on bright side!

[Hola Lolly]

Dental decay, especially under an old inlay, has no connection with menopause!
It's probably been there for ages undiagnosed.
Gum problems, or issues with the teeth's supporting structures may become problematic during pregnancy and menopause, when hormone levels fluctuate.
Hope it's easily treated!

[Machair]

I agree it is a pain, and I also agree it is the repairing/updating issue that gets us. My filling was brilliant two years ago on xray and now is not. I haven't had any new fillings since childhood- I really wish sweets had not been so popular in the 60s! None of my children have fillings and they are all grown up.

[Menomale]

New article on this matter http://www.news-medical.net/news/20170222/Estrogen-therapy-can-lead-to-healthier-teeth-and-gums-in-postmenopausal-women-study-suggests.aspx

[CLKD]

As oestrogen levels drop off so there is a chance for gums to recede = lose teeth which requires dental work.  I opted for implants as I couldn't face dentures at my age! ........

I can't understand how we 'get' fluoride into our systems unless we drink it  .  I have several cups of tea daily but don't drink tap water nor do I swallow toothpaste  and it is suggested that a person would have to drink a LOT of UK water in order to get flouride benefit.

[nearly50]

My new dentist was very kind and said that dentists filled teeth at a drop of the hat in the 70s when he saw my fillings but I think the reality was lazy brushing and tons of sugar - we used to put sugar on our cornflakes!

[CLKD]

Oh, one has to have sugar on your flakes 

[nearly50]

Sorry, I meant to write on our frosties, which maybe isn't so acceptable. 

[CLKD]

Yep, sugar on those too 

[nearly50]

Something HAS to be making the difference, if not fluoride then what? My son's approaching 40 and still only has a couple of tiny white fillings but he ate just as many sweets as I did ... and still does!

I don't think that dentists have the same 'drill and fill' attitude as they had then. I said my dentist was being kind, but he did say they studied the amount of needless filling which went on in the 70s and 80s.

[CLKD]

B4 drill and fill it was hook it out 

[nearly50]

Dentists were cruel enough in the 70s, can't imagine they were better earlier on. Ours didn't believe in using anaesthetic when filling teeth, can you imagine doing that to primary aged kids now?!  Recently I had a dentist who used to numb the gum before the jag - that was the other extreme!

[CLKD]

Oh I wish mine would use a freezing gel first  as that's the worst part of treatment for me  .  "It's only a scratch" ...... yeh, like you've got a tiger there with long claws!

I remember ether