Link between brushing teeth and epilepsy

Brushing your teeth can trigger a rare type of epileptic seizure, Australian researchers say in an article published in the journal Neurology.

The rhythmic action of tooth brushing seems to affect people who have a rare form of epilepsy associated with a small brain lesion.

The article reported on three people who had a seizure after brushing their teeth. All had identical lesions in the somatosensory cortex of the brain, an area that controls the face, mouth and gums.

Dr Wendyl D’Souza, a neurologist at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and senior lecturer in neuroepidemiology at the University of Melbourne and University of Tasmania, says persistent rhythmic action of tooth brushing stimulates a localised area of the mouth that triggers the seizures.

“We draw a parallel with epilepsies in relation to other stimuli such as photic stimulation [repetitive light flashing] which is also quite rhythmic,” he says.

D’Souza says the brain lesions, which were detected using magnetic resonance imaging, were benign neoplasms that had been there a long time, like birthmarks.

“The long-term solution is to control the seizures with medication if possible and by brushing less vigorously. The option of surgery is there, but it there is a risk of damaging other brain structures in the area.”

Neurologists believe there may be fewer than 10 cases of epilepsy stimulated by tooth brushing worldwide.

D’Souza says the opportunity to study three rare cases with the same lesion has enabled the researchers to review how epilepsy is understood and classified.

More information about epilepsy is available on the Epilepsy Action Australia website (www.epilepsy.org.au), a site for people with epilepsy and their carers.