Can an oral health problem cause hair loss? The answer is yes. There are dental infections such as cavities or periodontal diseases that impact the health of our entire body, even affecting hair loss by causing a greater risk of developing alopecia areataa type of baldness that affects 2% of the world population.
Why is this happening? Dental health experts explain that when a tooth is infected, the immune system generates more white blood cells as the body’s defense mechanism to combat the infectious process and cleanse the tooth; so that some of these white blood cells, which are found in the blood, are transported to other tissues of the body, being able to mistakenly attack the hair folliclesweakening the hair and stopping its growth in the affected area.
“Recent studies confirm that there is a causal relationship between oral infections and this hair loss, due to the autoimmune nature of this disorder,” says Dr. Alberto Sánchez, from the clinic capillary hospital. “There are three theories in this regard: the degenerative one, where due to the high innervation of the stomatognathic apparatus, any inflammatory focus can irritate the neurovegetative endings of the trigeminal nerve and produce metafocal manifestations; the infectious-allergic, where an odontogenic infection can spread at a distance; and finally, the immunopathological theory, where it is considered that the germs and toxins that leave the focus reach a specific organ or tissue, triggering an antigen-antibody reaction”, he adds.
For his part, the specialist explains that alopecia areata is a type of alopecia of immunological It affects men and women equally, and is influenced by numerous triggering elements such as genetics (approximately 20% of cases have a family incidence) and factors such as stress, psychological disorders, viral infections, a poor diet or certain hormonal changes. Although this pathology can occur at any age, it has a higher incidence in young people, with 60% of cases occurring before the age of 20, being the most common form of hair loss in children.
This hair loss appears suddenly in the form of round or oval patches on the scalp, although other areas such as the beard, chest, eyebrows or eyelashes may be affected. “In the case of patients with dental infections, recent studies have shown that many of the areas where they began to lose hair were on the same side as the caries, particularly occurring in the maxillary teeth, just above the teeth. the corner of the lips, drawing a line along the scalp, beard or eyebrows”, indicates the expert.
Reversible in most cases
This type of localized loss would be an autoimmune response against the hair follicle that causes hair loss. The good news is that it does not produce the definitive destruction of said follicles and, therefore, in most patients the alopecia is reversible and the hair grows back, in the course of about six months, in all those cases in which dental infection has been detected early.
However, a late diagnosis can cause the white blood cells to cause a irreversible damage in hair follicles, making hair loss permanent when not treated in time; Therefore, a preventive dental treatment that acts in the initial stages of said infection is of vital importance.
“Alopecia areata affects the loss of follicular privilege, where the anagen follicle, which is in the growth phase, is attacked by antigens, thus stopping the growth phase and giving rise to cell death that will spare the cells. mother of hair bulbs; therefore, it is not considered a scarring alopecia. However, if the treatment arrives late and the damage to the scalp is more serious, it could lead to total or universal alopecia, an irreversible loss that affects up to 5% of cases of alopecia areata”, details Dr. Sánchez.
At the first warning signs, the doctor recommends: going to an expert who, to diagnose this autoimmune disease, takes a correct and exhaustive medical history of the patient, added to certain complementary tests such as blood tests, oral X-rays and a trichoscopy.
“It is important to visit the dentist regularly, but when there is a clinic that causes itching, pain or inflammation or a disease such as cavities, alopecia or dental phlegmon, it will be essential to go to different specialists to solve the problem as soon as possible and reduce the risk of developing gum diseases that may affect our capillary health”, points out the specialist from Hospital Capilar.