Mum surprised to find out she started menopause after trip to the dentist
A mum was left gobsmacked when an unusual dental complaint turned out to be a sign she had started menopause. Angela Cook, 49, began suffering from "unbearable" gum pain, especially around her molars, when eating hard or chewy foods and couldn't understand why. Her favourite treats – humbug sweets, sugar cane and apples – became "impossible" to enjoy, and soon even everyday meals became just as painful.
Given the nature of the problem, the psychologist from Banbury, Oxfordshire, booked a trip to the dentist and was told the discomfort was likely due to ageing. It was only when she overheard a chat on the radio about menopause and gum health that everything "clicked into place" – and she realised she was going through it.
Experts say hormonal fluctuations, particularly a drop in oestrogen during menopause, can cause gums to become inflamed, bleed and ache.
But despite experiencing menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and mood swings 12 months prior to this in 2021 - at the age of 45, she hadn't linked the two.
Angela started scouring the internet for potential treatments and stumbled upon 'gum massaging' on YouTube which involves gently rubbing the gums under each tooth with her fingers after flossing, once a day.
When she began doing it daily in June 2022 she said she noticed an "instant difference". While she still experiences occasional aching, the episodes are far less frequent.
She said: "I never had any tooth or gum problems before the menopause – dentists would tell me how healthy my teeth were. So, this was a massive surprise."
Now she says she misses eating humbug sweets, but said the risk of having gum ache curbs her cravings.
This follows research by CanesMeno involving 1,000 women experiencing or having experienced menopause, which revealed that over half felt unprepared for this life stage, calling for better education on the subject.
Likewise, 48 per cent think the wider public needs to be better educated on the topic, while 35 per cent wish they'd been taught about menopause at school, university, or college.
The data suggests a fifth of women still consider menopause to be a mystery, as well as a 'taboo' subject. In addition, three quarters of those who have gone through menopause admitted they avoided talking about their symptoms with others.
Angela added: "I felt relieved when I came across the radio segment - I didn't feel so alone. It made me feel validated – there was a reason for what I was experiencing."
A spokesperson for CanesMeno, which has launched a training programme to educate Boots pharmacists on the signs of Menopause, said: "It's still somewhat of a mystery for many women – perhaps even for those who have experienced it.
"People will have their perceptions of what they think the menopause is, but it impacts those going through it many ways, way beyond what they might expect.
"And this study highlights some of these ways – sadly there is a bit of a knowledge gap and we want to change that."
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