The number of children, use of oral contraceptives and menopausal status in relation to the number of remaining teeth and the periodontal bone height. A population study of women in Gothenburg, Sweden.

A representative sample of urban women in Gothenburg, Sweden was examined for proximal periodontal bone heights and the number of teeth remaining. The results were studied in relation to the number of children borne, the use of oral contraceptives and the menopausal state. There was an increased risk of being edentulous with an increased number of children borne. This was also obvious when socio-economic status was taken into consideration. Edentulousness was most common among those women in the lowest socio-economic group who had given birth to many children. No significant difference in the number of remaining teeth was observed between current or previous users of oral contraceptives on the one hand and women who had never used them on the other. No significant differences were observed between premenopausal and postmenopausal women as regards the number of remaining teeth. The values for proximal periodontal bone heights showed no statistically significant differences for any of the conditions studied.