13 Things Most Women Don’t Know About Their Own Bodies

If you need a root canal, pull out your calendar. Estrogen makes us prone to dry sockets in the mouth, which is when a blood clot becomes dislodged from the hole where a tooth has been pulled, exposing the bones and nerves underneath. When a dry socket becomes infected, it hurts like crazy. To avoid ever experiencing this kind of pain, Barnes-Svarney suggests scheduling your extraction during the last week of your menstrual cycle (days 23 through 28), when estrogen levels are lowest. If you're pregnant (or planning on being), you should be aware that surges of estrogen can also cause gums to swell and increase the risk of gingivitis, so it's important for pregnant women to get their teeth cleaned and examined every three months or so.