There appears to be a close relationship between infection outbreaks on teeth and the presence of alopecia areata or localized alopecia, a type of hair loss which has an unknown origin. Alopecia areata usually starts with bald patches on the scalp, but it can occur elsewhere on the body. The disease occurs in women and men of all ages. "Alopecia areata is a dermatitis which presents the following signs: the typical pattern is for one or more round bald patches to appear on the scalp, in the beard, or in the eyebrows, or to undergo a loss of eyelashes. Alopecia areata is thought to be an auto-immune disease," the study noted.
"We have found that bald patches caused by tooth infection are not always in the same place. They normally appear on a line projected from the dental infection and can thus can be located on the face at the level of the maxillary teeth, above a line through the lip-angle to the scalp, beard, or even to the eyebrow. Nevertheless, they can also be located far from infection outbreak," explained University of Granada researchers José Antonio Gil Montoya and Antonio Cutando Soriano.
The new insights establish for the first time a relationship between alopecia areata and dental disease. The researchers advise going to the dentist when patients notice localized hair loss, in order to receive a careful examination of their oral health.
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Source: University of Granada
