RESEARCH ARTICLE
The Influence of Sex Steroid Hormones on Gingiva of Women
Eleni Markou1, *, Boura Eleana2, Tsalikis Lazaros3, Konstantinides Antonios3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2009Volume: 3
First Page: 114
Last Page: 119
Publisher ID: TODENTJ-3-114
DOI: 10.2174/1874210600903010114
Article History:
Received Date: 6/11/2008Revision Received Date: 19/1/2009
Acceptance Date: 10/4/2009
Electronic publication date: 5/6/2009
Collection year: 2009

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http: //creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Steroid sex hormones have a significant effect on different organ systems. As far as gingiva are concerned, they can influence the cellular proliferation, differentiation and growth of keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Estrogen is mainly responsible for alterations in blood vessels and progesterone stimulates the production of inflammatory mediators. In addition, some micro-organisms found in the human mouth synthesize enzymes needed for steroid synthesis and catabolism. In women, during puberty, ovulation and pregnancy, there is an increase in the production of sex steroid hormones which results in increased gingival inflammation, characterized by gingival enlargement, increased gingival bleeding and crevicular fluid flow and microbial changes.