Alopecia Areata and Dental Infections: An Unexpected Connection?
Updated: 3 hours ago
This week, I came across a newly published research paper that instantly caught my attention. It’s unusual, intriguing and, as both a dental surgeon and someone who specialises in hair loss, right up my street.
The paper, published in Case Reports in Dentistry in September 2026, describes three patients with alopecia areata (an autoimmune condition that causes patches of hair loss to total hair loss), who also had a particular type of dental infection called apical periodontitis.
Apical periodontitis is inflammation around the tip of a tooth’s root, usually caused by bacterial infection within the root canal system. It can sometimes exist without causing any pain or obvious symptoms.
In these three cases, following treatment of the dental problems, either through root canal treatment or extraction, the patients experienced hair regrowth, with their alopecia areata resolving.
Now, that’s interesting.
Could there really be a connection?
The authors explore a biologically plausible explanation involving inflammation and the immune system.
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles, disrupting hair growth.
Chronic dental infections can also stimulate an inflammatory response, with effects that may extend beyond the mouth. The authors discuss how this persistent inflammation could potentially influence the immune processes involved in alopecia areata.
It’s a fascinating possibility.
But there’s an important distinction here: an association is not proof of cause and effect.
These are just three case reports. Alopecia areata is unpredictable and can improve spontaneously, even without treatment. We cannot conclude that the dental infections caused the hair loss, or that treating them was responsible for the regrowth.
Nevertheless, it’s an observation worth investigating.
My thoughts
What particularly appealed to me about this paper was the unexpected overlap between my two professional worlds: dentistry and hair loss.
I’ve spent many years treating dental disease and, more recently in the management of hair loss. It’s not often that a research paper brings those two interests together quite so closely.
I’ve found myself thinking about this one for the last four or five days.
As well as examining the scalp, will I also start examining the rest of the head and neck, including the mouth and teeth, I wonder?
Could dental X-rays ever play a role in a trichology assessment?
Could I even find myself carrying out root canal treatment or dental extractions as part of a broader hair growth optimisation plan?
These are odd things to contemplate, but perhaps not as far-fetched as they might initially sound.
After all, we’re talking about dental disease that should be treated regardless of any hair or scalp symptoms.
The biological connection is plausible, but whether it actually exists remains to be discovered. We now need larger, well-designed studies to investigate whether there’s a genuine connection between dental infections and alopecia areata.
Could this really be a thing or is it just a red herring?
I hope we find out!
Authored by: Dr Gwen Adey BDS MFDS RCS
First published: 08/10/26
Research paper
Zuza A, et al. (2026). Case Reports of Alopecia Areata Associated With Apical Periodontitis. Case Reports in Dentistry.
