11 replies to this topic

[Madworld]

Recalcitrant acne vulgaris secondary to a dental abscess.
Boyd AS, King LE Jr.

Department of Medicine Dermatology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

This case report describes a middle-aged man with acne that was recalcitrant to numerous medications, including three courses of isotretinoin. His condition cleared after an infected tooth was removed and recurred when another tooth became carious. Acne vulgaris is associated with several immunologic responses including the production of antibodies against Propionibacterium acnes, the gram-positive bacteria found in acne lesions. We believe that the presence of our patient's dental infections provoked a follicular inflammatory response resulting in his recalcitrant acne.

I have this dental abscess (gumboil) for 4 years, and it started around the same time my acne went beyond control. It's not painful so I ignored it. For 4 years.

I'm going to see a dentist to get the problem sorted. I'm on accutane right now though so I won't be able to conclude on the link mentioned in the journal. Perhaps there are more acne sufferers out there who happens to have chronic dental abscess?

[Dissolve]

I can believe that there might be a connection between acne and healthy gums and teeth. I don't think it would be a direct connection but maybe they are both a result of something else. For me, I am more prone to cavities than others like my family.

[leelee2369]

i think this might be my problem. i have had to really bad cavities lately..as soon as they got infected my acne got out of control really bad!...i'm using tretion and cetaphil face wash w/eucerin cream at night...i get my teeth looked at tomorrow so hopefully my acne will clear up.

i have been breaking out in regular pimples and really small ones that look like a rash??????

or could it be because i stop using sal acid and started again...my skin is purging???

idk help desperate...

[Kirbatha]

I've had a chronic infection under one of my teeth for several years. I've had acne for several years...pretty resistant acne...

[tv_viewer]

I had a tooth abscess in April 2008, about the time I started to break out again. I wonder if they're connected.

[MFC]

No cavities for me, but swollen sensitive gums, stubborn even with brushing and flossing twice a day. I Wonder if their is a connection.

[guppy45]

I had a dental abscess too. Around this time I started to get all kinds of skin problems I never had before at age 31 include Rosacea/small pimples & redness around my nose. My dentist tried to save the tooth with ozone. After about a year of trying we finally pulled the tooth out. A little while later 95% of the rosacea bumps went away and the rosacea redness is 85% better. I still have other pimples I'm plagued with though.

There was also a failed root canal in another tooth. Even the root canal specialist couldn't find my root and almost drilled through my tooth trying to find it. My body closed it off. So...I probably have another infection in that other tooth though it doesn't really hurt cept once in a while if certain liquids finds there way down there...

BTW, I think it's important to try to find the best docs/dentists you can find. Even the great ones can get baffled but I think it's good to give yourself the best shot at wellness. How do you find a great doc? It's actually tricky. I ask friends and sometimes check RateMDs.

[laura317]

I developed my first cyst on my chin right around the time I found out I had gum disease. From years of smoking (I have now quit) my gums were in rough shape. They have gotten better with proper care, but my cysts recently came back. Of course my dentist says there is no connection...

[databased]

Periodontal disease has undergone a sea change that acne research has not quite followed. Just as with acne, bacteria was demonized as the root cause even though (just as in acne) the bacteria is typically present in people with or without the disease. In recent years, however, periodontal disease has come to be viewed as being caused, not by the bacteria itself, but by the host response to the bacteria. Not much practical benefit has come from this change in view, but there is widespread interest in finding a way to treat periodontal disease via anti-inflammatory routes instead of anti-bacterial routes.

I believe that the key mechanism has recently been discovered for the inflammatory cascade in acne: P. acnes bacteria touches toll-like receptors on skin cells, triggering the production of superoxide anions to destroy the bacteria, which is not followed (in acne patients) by a quenching of the superoxide anions before they begin to kill human cells as well, which then starts a chain that recruits neutrophils into a massive response. It may be that a similar, or even identical, mechanism is key to periodontal disease. Xylitol, one of the few natural substances successfully used to dampen inflammation in the mouth, appears to upregulate superoxide dismutase genes, a key mechanism for mopping up superoxide anions.

It's too bad that specialization separates research on these two diseases. Acne research could benefit from the concept that it is the host response that is key (instead of pouring more and more dollars into trying to kill bacteria that exists on acne-free patients as well). And periodontal research could benefit from the detailed biochemical mechanisms that have been uncovered in studying P. acnes. My guess is that in both cases the root cause is the same lifestyle: failure to live in the regular bright light and dark night environment we evolved in, which causes digestive changes (especially when fructose is in the diet) that prevent key nutrients from being available to manufacture (in particular) superoxide dismutase.

[soosyv]

perhaps this is how food is related to acne.. certain foods constantly feeding the bacteria

Edited by soosyv, 01 August 2010 - 07:26 PM.

[findmebeingcrazy]

I was having a dental abscess for a many months after i filled my teeth up. It didn't hurt so i didn't think that the pimple on my gums was due to the teeth. The pimple often flare up and i'd just burst it and it'll flatten but lo and behold one day it flared up so bad, the next day i had a toothache.

Went to the dentist and he told me that it is because my tooth is infected and it gone down to the bone. I had to do a root canal.

Now is day 2 of root canal and i surprisingly notice a clearing of my skin. For the last year, with this decay and infected tooth i have bee breaking out non-stop. Everyday i have a new pimple and you can imagine it is so frustrating. Spent so much money on different skincare products and facials that seem to stop the problem but it would come right back again.

Sometimes when i smoke (socially) and drink alcohol, it gets worst so now i stopped both and my skin is calm and better. Probably the smoking is making my gums or the pimple worst.

The dentist also said, although pus comes out from the pimple, the bacteria from what we eat and maybe smoking gets in through the pimple into the tooth so not only does the bacteria get in from the decayed tooth, it gets in from the pimple making it double infected.

For the last 2 days, all my breakouts healed, leaving just a faint scar. I hope to see an improvement (cross my fingers!). Doctor also gave antibiotics for the infection so probably that is also helping my skin in killing the similar bacteria from my face too.

I'm no doctor but seemingly, our tooth decays and infections can lead to pimples. Probably because the skin is connected and bacteria from our mouth can travel to the skin. Or maybe it is another explanation.