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Unusual case report: The woman with the hair on her teeth

Having hair on your teeth is not a particularly flattering feature: it means being bossy and irritable quickly. The phrase comes from the Middle Ages, a time when hair was still considered a symbol of masculinity and power. Whoever grows hair on their teeth in the saying, is considered particularly defensive – especially in his words.

Nothing is known about the character traits of the young woman this case report deals with. Just so much: she was worried about a phenomenon that she had noticed for the first time six years ago – her hair grew in the mouth.

A team of doctors led by Khrystyna Zhurakivska from the University of Foggia, Italy reports on the unusual case. As the doctors emphasize, it is a very rare phenomenon. So far, only five comparable cases have been described in the literature – all exclusively men, who mostly only had a single hair.

Hormones go crazy

The case in Italy differs from this: the complaints were not only described for the first time in a woman. In addition, several individual hairs that looked like eyelashes grew from the patient’s gums. What was the cause?

There are many indications that the patient’s hormonal balance played a role. When the symptoms first appeared – the woman was 19 at the time – doctors removed her hair and prescribed the birth control pill to affect her hormonal balance. The therapy was successful. In fact, the woman will be spared from the unpleasant complaints for years to come.

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But six years later, she stopped taking the pill – and the hair returned. She had previously been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is a hormone disorder and manifests itself among other things with irregular menstrual bleeding. Affected women report acne and increased hair growth on the body (hirsutism). For many, the level of male sex hormones in the blood is increased. About five to ten percent of women of sexually mature age have PCOS. The onset of illness is usually between the ages of 15 and 25. PCOS is not curable, but the symptoms can usually be treated by taking hormones.

Hair on chin and neck

In fact, the woman was also noticeably hairy on other parts of her body – her hair grew on her chin and neck. There are many indications that the disease may have favored the growth of hair in the mouth. The researchers say that the mucous membrane of the mouth is closely related to the tissue that forms the later skin during embryonic development. Individual hair cells could possibly be activated later. However, the exact cause is “unclear”.

Since the hormone disorder is relatively widespread, but the phenomenon has never been described in women, it appears to be extremely rare even in people with PCOS. However, the medical team emphasizes the importance of examining affected patients more closely. A complex illness may be to blame for hair growth in the mouth and this has not yet been diagnosed.

The woman’s complaints had improved in the past by taking the contraceptive pill. Was the woman’s suffering so great that she started taking the pill again? That is not clear from the report.

Source: “Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology” / PCOS Selbsthilfe Deutschland e.V.

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