A collection of papers in Advances in Dental Research (Volume 33, Issue 1, dated January 2026 and published online in December 2025) examines how sex, gender and sexuality shape oral health, and argues that oral health research too often treats sex as a simple binary variable. One of the papers is by A. Jessani of Western University's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry in London, Ontario. For Canadian practices, the work points toward fuller medical histories, better-targeted prevention and more inclusive intake.
As of September 2026, the collection is a useful reference for Canadian dental professionals thinking about how sex and gender affect their patients. It brings together researchers from the University of Adelaide, the University of Washington, Western University and the National Dental Research Institute Singapore. This article summarizes what the papers say, adds findings from a separate 2026 review on sex-specific oral health, and outlines practical steps for dental practices in Ontario and across Canada.
What the Collection Covers
The papers appear in Volume 33, Issue 1 of Advances in Dental Research. They include:
- "Sex, Gender and Sexuality in Oral Health Research: Setting the Scene" by L. Jamieson and G. Soares (University of Adelaide) and C. Randall (University of Washington).
- "Beyond Demographics: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in Oral Health Research" by A. Jessani (Department of Dentistry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario).
- "Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Intersectionality in Oral Health Care" by G. Soares and colleagues from the University of Adelaide, the University of Washington and the National Dental Research Institute Singapore.
- "Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in Oral Health Research: Future Directions" by C. Randall, G. Soares and L. Jamieson.
How Sex, Gender and Sexuality Affect Oral Health
Jessani's paper sets out the core argument. It describes sex, gender and sexuality as "crucial and interrelated factors influencing oral health outcomes" that are often overlooked in human studies. According to the paper:
- Biological sex influences susceptibility to oral disease through hormonal, immunological and microbiome-related mechanisms.
- Gender, as a social construct, affects health through psychosocial stress, access to health care and societal norms.
- Sexuality intersects with oral health through behavioural risks, stigma and discrimination, especially among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning people.
Research Gaps the Papers Identify
Jessani's paper argues that oral health research often treats sex as a binary demographic variable and excludes sexual and gender minority individuals. It describes a lack of meaningful integration of sex, gender and sexuality across every phase of research, from proposal development and data collection to analysis. According to the paper, this limits how far findings can be generalized, perpetuates health inequities and slows the development of inclusive, person-centred interventions.
The paper also notes that dental education and research training programs often lack comprehensive content on sex, gender and sexuality. It links gaps in mentorship, representation and inclusive curricula to the under-representation of gender-diverse scholars and leaders in oral health research.
Access to Care: Evidence From U.S. Data
The paper by Soares and colleagues applies an intersectional framework to cross-sectional data from the U.S. All of Us Research Program. It examined dental service use and affordability across 30 groups defined by race, gender and sexual orientation. The authors report substantial inequities, with racialized, gender-diverse and sexual minority individuals facing greater barriers to dental care. Most of the disparities were explained by additive effects, meaning the disadvantages associated with each characteristic largely stacked on top of one another.
The study used U.S. data. Canadian practices should treat it as a prompt to review their own processes, not as a direct measure of access to care in Canada.
Hormonal Transitions and Sex Differences in Disease
A separate narrative review, published in March 2026 in Dentistry Journal by researchers at Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the University of Bern, looked at sex-specific differences in oral health. It is not part of the Advances in Dental Research collection, but its findings are relevant to chairside care. The review examines hormonal influences in women during puberty, pregnancy and menopause, and reports that:
- In women, estrogen deficiency is linked to xerostomia, mucosal atrophy and increased caries susceptibility.
- Men show a higher prevalence of periodontitis (57% versus 38%, as reported in the review), use preventive dental services about one-third less often, and have more traumatic dental injuries (about a 2:1 ratio).
- Women, on average, maintain better oral hygiene and treatment adherence.
The authors conclude that women need targeted interventions during hormonal transitions, while men need better engagement with preventive care.
What This Means for Canadian Dental Practices
None of these papers sets a clinical standard, but together they suggest practical steps for practices in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and across Canada:
- Take a fuller medical history. Ask about pregnancy, menopause and other hormonal transitions, and about symptoms such as dry mouth, so prevention can be adjusted when a patient's risk changes.
- Target prevention by risk. The review's findings on periodontitis and preventive-care use suggest that some male patients may need more active encouragement to keep hygiene appointments.
- Make intake inclusive. Offer gender options beyond male and female on intake forms, record the name and pronouns a patient uses, and train front-desk staff accordingly. In Ontario, gender identity and gender expression are protected grounds under the Human Rights Code.
- Build it into learning. Jessani's paper notes that dental education often lacks content on sex, gender and sexuality; study clubs and continuing education planning can help fill that gap.
Pro Tip: Review your intake form this month. If it offers only "Male" and "Female," add options such as "Non-binary," "Prefer to self-describe" and "Prefer not to say," plus a field for the name the patient uses. It takes one form revision and signals inclusivity before the patient reaches the chair.
EBIKO Dental will continue monitoring research on oral health equity and reporting on findings that matter to Canadian dental professionals. For more industry news, visit EBIKO Dental.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does biological sex affect oral disease risk?
Research suggests it does. Jessani's paper in Advances in Dental Research describes hormonal, immunological and microbiome-related mechanisms, and a 2026 review in Dentistry Journal reports a higher prevalence of periodontitis in men and links estrogen deficiency in women to dry mouth, mucosal atrophy and increased caries susceptibility.
Q: Where was this research published?
The collection appears in Advances in Dental Research, Volume 33, Issue 1 (January 2026; published online December 19, 2025). The separate narrative review by Holtkamp and colleagues appeared in Dentistry Journal, Volume 14, Issue 3 (March 2026).
Q: What can a dental practice do now?
Update medical history questions to cover hormonal transitions, target preventive messaging by risk, make intake forms and front-desk processes inclusive of gender-diverse patients, and include sex and gender topics in continuing education planning.
Correction, September 29, 2026: An earlier version of this article described the collection as a September 2026 special issue of the Journal of Dental Research. It was published in Advances in Dental Research (Volume 33, Issue 1, January 2026; online December 2025). The earlier version also described a separate narrative review as part of the collection and included several statements that the papers do not support; those have been corrected or removed.