Health
Women experience more dental health issues than men, experts say. Here's what to do about it
Your dental health could depend on your gender.
Male and female teeth are very different, according to a TikTok posted by Dr. Ellie Phillips, DDS, an oral health educator based in Austin, Texas.
Phillips’ viral video, which has amassed more than one million likes, explained the difference between men’s and women’s teeth.
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The dentist, who has worked in the industry for more than four decades, shared that women often tell her that they take great care of their teeth.
“‘I always attend dental cleanings,’” she said, quoting the women she treats.
“‘I floss, I brush. I do everything I’m told to do, and my teeth have cavities, I have gum disease, gum recession, all these problems.’”
She added, “‘And there is my husband or my fiancé or my boyfriend — he doesn’t even clean his teeth half the time and doesn’t have any of these problems.’”
The importance of pH
When Phillips was in dental school in the 1960s, she was “trained to believe” that the pH of all saliva was 7.
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After using a pH meter to test multiple people over the course of many years, however, Phillips discovered that the pH of women’s saliva was frequently 5.5 or 6.
“Acidic saliva in your mouth … can be the very reason that your teeth are weakening, that you are promoting plaque in your mouth, that you’re getting gum disease,” she said in the video.
“Acidic saliva is really damaging to oral health.”
Women’s salivary pH tends to fluctuate while men’s stays stable, according to a dental expert. (iStock)
Phillips suggested that the assumption of a universal saliva pH was based on studies from the 1950s, when only male dental students were surveyed.
“Even when I went to dental school, [it] was 1% women,” she said. “The rest were men.”
Dr. Dominik Nischwitz, a specialist in biological dentistry in Tübingen, Germany, noted that several studies have suggested that female patients can have significantly lower pH values, meaning their mouths are more acidic.
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“Women also have, generally speaking, a lower saliva flow rate than men,” he told Fox News Digital.
Saliva’s ideal pH rate is between 7 and 7.4, according to Nischwitz.
“If we can help mothers create a healthy mouth for themselves, we can start to truly affect the global epidemic of dental disease.”
“If the pH of saliva constantly drops below 5.5, the tooth enamel gets demineralized, which means it will be more prone to tooth decay,” he warned.
“If this is combined with a lower flow rate of the saliva, which can lead to a dry mouth, the tooth becomes weaker, because the remineralization or buffering capacity is too slow.”
Dr. Brandon Mack, DDS, a cosmetic dentist who practices in both New York and Florida, agreed in a response sent to Fox News Digital that acidity in the mouth can lead to worsened bacteria and tooth erosion.
Dr. Brandon Mack, DDS, is a cosmetic dentist and founder of Eden Dental Aesthetics in Florida. (Trenton Butler)
“The saliva’s role is to serve as a buffer system that allows us to keep teeth at a certain level that [is] going to promote health and good probiotics inside the plaque biofilm,” he said.
Mack emphasized the question, “Are there influences that disproportionately affect women who shift their acidic environment to a point where it’s going to be more detrimental to the mouth?”
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Although Mack could not confirm whether there is a difference in salivary pH between men and women, he “won’t deny” the potential for some type of “relative correlation of factors that affect women more than men.”
He said, “The quality of saliva is going to vary from individual to individual, and it’s going to depend on how many minerals — like calcium, phosphate and fluorohydroxyapatite — are in that saliva. We also have to consider the flow rate of the saliva, or how much saliva is present, and any kind of conditions that are going to affect men and women differently.”
What’s the solution?
In Phillips’ TikTok video, she recommends taking a daily dose of xylitol, a natural sugar alcohol, to counteract salivary acidity.
“When you put xylitol, even a tiny 1-gram amount, on the tip of your tongue, you will stimulate a flow of saliva into your mouth,” she said.
This extra saliva has “all the minerals you need,” Phillips said, as well as reparative cells for gum health.
Experts stressed the importance of maintaining a neutral oral environment. (iStock)
The expert recommended ingesting xylitol, such as a Zellie’s dental mint, at the end of a meal and then abstaining from eating or drinking for an hour afterward.
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Mack agreed that xylitol is an “incredible tool,” as it doesn’t have any carbs that get “metabolized by acid-loving bacteria. Xylitol promotes pH buffering when the salivary flow is reduced,” he said.
Mack recommended other products, such as StellaLife kits and xylitol candy and lozenges.
Patients can also take certain medications to increase salivary flow, he added.
It’s “paramount” for women to be included in research studies, a dental health expert emphasized. (iStock)
In addition to taking xylitol, it is crucial to adhere to a healthy lifestyle and eat nutrient-rich foods, Nischwitz recommended.
“It is true that having a xylitol mint will lead to more saliva flow in the short term and is definitely recommended, but it won’t solve it completely if the lifestyle doesn’t support the oral microbiome,” he told Fox News Digital.
“It’s astounding that the microbiome that develops before the age of 4 contributes to up to 40% of the mouth bacteria that we have as adults.”
“Processed foods are usually low in key minerals or can even deplete the body’s minerals due to chelating agents like phytic acid.”
Key micronutrients that help to remineralize teeth include vitamin D3, vitamin K2, magnesium, phosphorus, boron and essential amino acids, according to Nischwitz.
Using more natural toothpaste and ditching the super-acidic, chemical mouthwashes are other factors to consider, an expert recommended. (iStock)
Using more natural toothpaste and ditching the super-acidic, chemical mouthwashes are other factors to consider, he recommended.
“Instead of chemical mouthwashes, which harm your oral microbiome and make the saliva super acidic, try coconut oil pulling instead,” Nischwitz advised.
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In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Phillips reiterated that it is “paramount” for women to be included in research studies.
“Their hormonal fluctuations, menstrual cycles and biological nuances demand far greater attention and accommodation than they currently receive,” she wrote. “I’m thrilled that we’re finally delving into the crucial aspects of women’s oral health as a society.”
The condition of a mother’s oral health during pregnancy has a “direct impact” on her baby’s oral health, which is a “vital yet often neglected conversation,” Phillips said.
Dr. Ellie Phillips, DDS, is an oral health educator and author of “Mouth Care Comes Clean.” “I’m thrilled that we’re finally delving into the crucial aspects of women’s oral health as a society,” she told Fox News Digital. (Dr. Ellie Phillips)
“It’s astounding that the microbiome that develops before the age of 4 contributes to up to 40% of the mouth bacteria that we have as adults,” she said.
“If we can help mothers create a healthy mouth for themselves, we can start to truly affect the global epidemic of dental disease that’s upon us.”
More than half of Americans suffer from dental issues that are most likely preventable, according to Phillips.
“This shift requires us to truly evaluate the current dental industry, start asking the right questions and expand the research on gender differences and effective oral care strategies,” she said.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
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A deadly, drug-resistant fungus already spreading rapidly through U.S. hospitals is becoming even more threatening worldwide, though there may be hope for new treatments, according to a new scientific review.
Candida auris (C. auris), often described as a “superbug fungus,” is spreading globally and increasingly resisting human immune systems, Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) researchers said in a review published in early December.
The findings reinforce prior CDC warnings that have labeled C. auris an “urgent antimicrobial threat” — the first fungal pathogen to receive that designation — as U.S. cases have surged, particularly in hospitals and long-term care centers.
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Approximately 7,000 cases were identified across dozens of U.S. states in 2025, according to the CDC, and it has reportedly been identified in at least 60 countries.
Candida auris is a drug-resistant fungus spreading in hospitals worldwide. (Nicolas Armer/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
The review, published in Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, helps explain why the pathogen is so difficult to contain and warns that outdated diagnostics and limited treatments lag behind. It was conducted by Dr. Neeraj Chauhan of the Hackensack Meridian CDI in New Jersey, Dr. Anuradha Chowdhary of the University of Delhi’s Medical Mycology Unit and Dr. Michail Lionakis, chief of the clinical mycology program at the National Institutes of Health.
Their findings stress the need to develop “novel antifungal agents with broad-spectrum activity against human fungal pathogens, to improve diagnostic tests and to develop immune- and vaccine-based adjunct modalities for the treatment of high-risk patients,” the researchers said in a statement.
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“In addition, future efforts should focus on raising awareness about fungal disease through developing better surveillance mechanisms, especially in resource-poor countries,” they added. “All these developments should help improve the outcomes and prognosis of patients afflicted by opportunistic fungal infections.”
Candida auris can survive on skin and hospital surfaces, allowing it to spread easily. (iStock)
First identified in 2009 from a patient’s ear sample in Japan, C. auris has since spread to dozens of countries, including the U.S., where outbreaks have forced some hospital intensive care units to shut down, according to the researchers.
The fungus poses the greatest risk to people who are already critically ill, particularly those on ventilators or with weakened immune systems. Once infected, about half of patients may die, according to some estimates.
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Unlike many other fungi, C. auris can survive on human skin and cling to hospital surfaces and medical equipment, allowing it to spread easily in healthcare settings.
“It is resistant to multiple antifungal drugs, and it tends to spread in hospital settings, including on equipment being used on immunocompromised and semi-immunocompromised patients, such as ventilators and catheters,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone, previously told Fox News Digital.
Scientists say the unique cell wall structure of C. auris makes it harder to kill. (iStock)
It is also frequently misdiagnosed, delaying treatment and infection control measures.
“Unfortunately, symptoms such as fever, chills and aches may be ubiquitous, and it can be mistaken for other infections,” Siegel said.
In September, he said intense research was ongoing to develop new treatments.
Only four major classes of antifungal drugs are currently available, and C. auris has already shown resistance to many of them. While three new antifungal drugs have been approved or are in late-stage trials, researchers warn that drug development has struggled to keep pace with the fungus’s evolution.
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Despite the sobering findings, there is still room for cautious optimism.
The fungus can cling to skin and hospital surfaces, aiding its spread. (iStock)
In separate research published in December, scientists at the University of Exeter in England discovered a potential weakness in C. auris while studying the fungus in a living-host model.
The team found that, during infection, the fungus activates specific genes to scavenge iron, a nutrient it needs to survive, according to their paper, published in the Nature portfolio journal Communications Biology in December.
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Because iron is essential for the pathogen, researchers believe drugs that block this process could eventually stop infections or even allow existing medications to be repurposed.
“We think our research may have revealed an Achilles’ heel in this lethal pathogen during active infection,” Dr. Hugh Gifford, a clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter and co-author of the study, said in a statement.
New research is underway to develop better treatments and diagnostics for C. auris. (iStock)
As researchers race to better understand the fungus, officials warn that strict infection control, rapid detection and continued investment in new treatments remain critical.
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Health experts emphasize that C. auris is not a threat to healthy people.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the CDI researchers and additional experts for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Angelica Stabile contributed reporting.
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The New York State Department of Health reported a record surge in influenza activity, with 71,123 positive flu cases recorded statewide during the week ending December 20.
Health officials said the figure represents the highest number of flu cases ever reported in a single week since influenza became a reportable disease in New York in 2004.
State health data show the weekly total reflects a 38% increase from the previous reporting period, signaling a rapidly intensifying flu season.
There have been 189,312 reported positive flu cases so far this season, while influenza-related hospitalizations rose 63% in the most recent week.
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New York reported the highest weekly total of cases ever recorded since influenza became reportable in 2004. (iStock)
“We are seeing the highest number of flu cases ever recorded in a single week in New York state,” Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a press release.
There have been 189,312 reported flu cases so far this season, with influenza-related hospitalizations increasing 63% in the most recent week. (iStock)
Earlier this month, the department declared influenza prevalent statewide, a designation that requires unvaccinated health care workers to wear masks in patient care settings.
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Health officials continue to emphasize that vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent severe illness and hospitalization from influenza.
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New Yorkers who have not yet received a seasonal flu shot are still encouraged to do so, with experts saying vaccination can offer protection even later in the season.
Health officials continue to urge New Yorkers to take preventive steps, including vaccination and staying home when sick, to limit further spread. (iStock)
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To help limit further spread, the department advises individuals experiencing flu-like symptoms — including fever, cough, sore throat, or body aches — to stay home. State health officials also recommend frequent handwashing, using hand sanitizer, and avoiding close contact with sick individuals.
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For those who become ill, officials say antiviral medications are available and are most effective when started within 48 hours of symptom onset.
Health officials also added that people at higher risk for complications should contact a health care provider promptly for evaluation and possible treatment.
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The department noted that flu activity typically peaks in January, meaning case counts could continue to climb in the weeks ahead.
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