Hello to all. I hope no one objects to my re-opening this discussion, but I am now facing a dental visit and would like advice on how to broach the subject with my dentist.
I should fill in the background: I have had luxuriant hair all my life - though it went gray and then white quite early - and suddenly, a few months after my first root canal, I lost a strip of hair about 2" wide on my head and also a patch on the eyebrow on the same side as the root canal.
Other medical people have said there's no connection, but thanks to this group I've learned that there can indeed be one, and in fact I'm now more or less convinced that the root canal is the cause. Meanwhile I've seen no improvement.
As I say, I want to mention it to my dentist, but I don't want him to feel that I'm being accusatory. Any advice would be welcome. Also, if anyone has information on whether there's a chance I can recover hair if I have the tooth extracted, I'd much appreciate it.
Thanks for listening and "good courage" to all, as we say in France!

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Hi Joe,

A person has to have the genes to develop any form of alopecia areata.The genetic link is known because although it does not happen to everyone, there are families with some forms of AA in every generation. And geneticists have identified abnormalities in proteins needed for follicle function that point to a suspicion of genetic link in animal lab tests with certain genetic markers.

What triggers it to become apparent and show hair loss symptoms varies widely as does the duration and frequency of hair loss episodes or the severity of the loss.There is no pattern and no prediction other than that childhood onset with total loss at any early age with no regrowth is not a good prognosis for regrowth.

There is enough anecdotal evidence to show that triggering events for alopecia areata episodes can be any kind of physical or psychological stress.

Because this is a condition that can go into remission on its own at any time and usually does ( 80% of all new cases resolve with regrowth on their own in less than a year with no treatment) there are who look back at events to make a connection when none can be proven.

So-called triggering events and regrowth in hindsight are pure coincidence.

There's really nothing you can do to ward off an alignment of environmental and life - stresors. A person could have a surgical trauma, a viral or bacterial infection, a marriage, divorce, pregnancy, hormonal shift..anything at all their life; and while some people will relate their AA back to such an event, an equal number of people will say there was absolutely nothing stressful in any way about their life.

As for the hair growth and tooth extraction idea..it has no legs..uh.. I mean roots.

Thea
baldgirlsdolunch.org
Thanks for the input, Thea. There's nothing but male pattern baldness in my genetic makeup in recent generations, and then on only one side (maternal). But I still can't shake the feeling that this is the result of the root canal - acquired, as opposed to inherited, AA if you will. Or perhaps I shouldn't be calling it AA at all.

In any case, if there is such a thing as a trigger and if the trigger or cause is a microinfection, wouldn't removing the trigger or cause at least encourage reversal?

Hello. I totally disagree. I had a root canal three years ago and I woke up to a 2 inch bald patch and painful joints 2 weeks later. I have absolutely NO hereditary of alopecia in my family. My grandparents on both sides have lived well into their 90’s with heads full of hair. 

I have endured 40% of hair loss since this root canal and still losing each day. I just had my 50th Bday this year and as a retired hair stylist of 30 years, it’s quite disheartening dealing with this!

I have researched more than the average and I have discovered the roots in our mouth are connected to just about every aspect of the human body! I am in the process of having so much corrective dental work done with a few more procedures to go. Since then, joint pain has disappeared, the hair I have left isn’t graying as much and isn’t falling out! My suggestion is to get that poison out of your mouth, including silver fillings if you have any. It’s killing you silently.

Sincerly from experience,

Tee

Thanks for answering, Tee. I may agree with Thea as far as inherited AA is concerned, and that if I had the gene for AA any stress event, environmental or life, might trigger it. But I still feel that what I have is induced. To put it another way, I don't have AA. What I have is hair loss due to a root canal.

I'd love to hear what your dentist says about extracting a tooth that has had root-canal therapy. Dentists who do it have been persecuted for it by other members of their profession.

Hello, my daughter who is 8 years old had a root canal and a crown last year. A month after the treatment I noticed a bald spot, she had lots of fatigue and had nose bleeds for a few months 2-3 times per month after her procedure. her pediatrician said the bleeding was caused due to dried air and Florida heat, but she was born in Florida and never had fatigue nor nose bleeds prior to her dental work. A year later(now) she is completely bald, lost eyebrows and part of her eyelashes.   As a mother I always felt there was a connection with the dental work and her alopecia so I called a holistic doctor( which by the way is the type of dentist that you want to see HOLISTIC) as they specialized in this and will removed the mercury fillings and clean your root canal the appropriate and safe way. 6 months ago I contacted a holistic doctor because I wanted to remove her crown thinking it had mercury, but I was told by the assistant that crowns do not have mercury in them as fillings do so I left it as that, but I always felt in my heart a connection. During this year I have done everything an anything to help her grow her hair but with no results. (holistic doctors, organic diet, creams, oils, etc) Last night I came across a program in Netflix called "Root Cause" and what the dentists in the program talked about and the dangers of root canals all make perfect sense to me( cancer, breast cancer, throat cancer, heart attacks, back pain and many more).  Yes, perhaps not everyone develops Alopecia due to a root canal or dental work but I have a strong feeling that my daughter's Alopecia did. I will make an appointment this coming week to have her crown removed as it is the only way to correct and clean the root canal.  I will give an update soon. Blessings!

Claudia

Claudia, have you been to a holistic dentist yet? I have an appointment on Monday because i too lost all of my hair after a regular dentist did dental work on me. I have 1 root canal and several mercury fillings. I’d love to talk to you and see where your daughter is n the healing process. Thanks 

Brittany 

Try using different vitamins and oils for hair. I use castor oil. After applying the hair becomes more healthy and well-groomed.

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