Wounds in the mouth heal more slowly in women and older adults, a new study at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) reveals. Researchers found that while wounds to the skin heal more quickly in women than in men, the opposite is true for healing of wounds inside the mouth. Dr Phillip Marucha, Head of Periodontics at the UIC College of Dentistry said, “We discovered that, regardless of age, men's mouth wounds heal faster than women's.”

Older women were at the highest risk for delayed healing, their wounds closing half as slowly as younger men, and Dr Marucha believes that the findings of the study could have important implications for surgical practices.

“There are an increasing number of surgical procedures being performed in older populations and a greater emphasis needs to be placed on accelerating the healing process” he explained.

The study involved creating a small, standardised circular wound, half the diameter of a pencil, between the first and second molar of 212 male and female volunteers aged 18 to 35 years and 50 to 88 years.

Professor Christopher Engeland, Re-search Assistant Professor at UIC and lead author of the study suggests that testosterone may help mouth wounds heal faster in men. He explained that it is a potent anti-inflammatory hormone that is abundant in saliva and added that while women are generally more prone to inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, women's wounds heal faster than men's in part because inflammation causes them to close faster. But the more inflammation a person has inside the mouth, the slower wounds appear to heal.