There is 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 starts with bald patches on the scalp, and sometimes elsewhere on the body. The disease occurs in males and females of all ages, and experts believe that it affects 1 out 1000 people.
Research by professors José Antonio Gil Montoya and Antonio Cutando Soriano, of the University of Granada, advises going to the dentist when patients notice localized hair loss, in order to receive a careful examination of their oral health.
“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”, stated the researchers. Hair re-grows in most patients after several months. However, in a quarter of all patients the condition recurs once or more. According to professors at the UGR, the affected hair follicles are not totally destroyed. Therefore, hair can grow back, although patients who have already suffered from alopecia areata may have recurrences.