Assessment of Oral Manifestations, Periodontal Status, and Vitamin D Levels in Postmenopausal Women: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess oral manifestations, periodontal status, and vitamin D levels in postmenopausal women. Materials and methods: Seventy systemically healthy postmenopausal women were included in this cross-sectional study. To determine the periodontal status, clinical parameters such as clinical attachment level (CAL), probing depth (PD), plaque index (PI), and bleeding on probing (BOP) were used. Oral manifestations were recorded using a standard questionnaire. The unstimulated salivary flow rate was recorded using the modified Schirmer test strips. The collected salivary samples were analyzed using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits to estimate the salivary levels of vitamin D. Results were then subjected to statistical analysis. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05. Spearman’s correlation was used to correlate vitamin D levels and the periodontal parameters. Results: More than 50% of the participants reported xerostomia and burning mouth syndrome, with 72.08% reporting hyposalivation. A total of 78% had insufficient salivary vitamin D levels. More than 50% of the sites with BOP and mean CAL of 2.89 ± 0.79 was detected. A statistically significant strong negative correlation was observed between salivary vitamin D levels and the periodontal parameters (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The majority of postmenopausal women exhibited oral discomfort in the form of xerostomia, burning mouth, taste alterations, and hyposalivation. There was a marked insufficiency in vitamin D levels. A significant negative correlation was demonstrated between vitamin D levels and periodontal status, owing to the increased risk of development of periodontitis in the subjects. Clinical significance: The majority of women in the postmenopausal period experience oral symptoms related to estrogen deficiency. However, due to a lack of sufficient awareness, these issues have not been adequately addressed. Vitamin D deficiency is also commonly encountered at this stage, which complicates systemic as well as periodontal health.