A recent study found that half of women with migraines scored in the bottom two brackets for oral health. That’s not a coincidence. According to the research, women with the worst self-reported oral health were dramatically more likely to suffer from body pains, which include migraines, abdominal aches, and fibromyalgia.1
These results carry weight, as they provide strong evidence that your oral cavity isn’t an isolated ecosystem, but actually the start of a chain reaction that influences everything in your body, from gut function to nerve sensitivity. If you’re dealing with unexplained chronic pain, especially migraines or widespread tenderness, your oral health might be the first place you need to evaluate.
Are Your Body Pains Linked to Harmful Bacteria in Your Mouth?
A recent study published in the Frontiers in Pain Research journal investigated whether poor oral health and the types of bacteria in the mouth influence chronic pain conditions in women. Researchers from the University of Sydney focused on conditions like migraine, fibromyalgia, and functional abdominal pain, which all fall under what’s called central sensitization disorders.
These are complex pain syndromes where the nervous system becomes overly sensitive, often without any clear physical cause.2
• The study followed women in New Zealand and tracked their pain and oral health — The study looked at 158 non-smoking women without chronic inflammatory diseases or diabetes. Researchers collected the participants’ saliva samples to analyze their oral microbiome. The women were also asked to complete assessments of their pain levels and oral health status.
The participants filled out validated tools measuring body-wide pain, migraine frequency, and gut pain. Oral health was evaluated using the World Health Organization’s (WHO) adult questionnaire.
• The women with the worst oral health experienced greater body pain — They were far more likely to suffer from chronic migraines and had higher overall pain scores. According to a news report from News-Medical.Net, “60 percent were more likely to experience moderate to severe body pain, and 49 percent were more likely to experience migraine headaches. Lower oral health was a statistically significant predictor of frequent and chronic migraine.”3
• Oral bacteria travel beyond the mouth and influence the rest of the body — The fact is that bacteria in the mouth don’t just stay there. When gum tissue becomes inflamed or damaged due to poor oral hygiene, harmful bacteria and their metabolic byproducts enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system. From there, they reach distant tissues, including the brain and gut.
Once systemic, these bacteria upregulate pain signals and disrupt immune balance, adding another layer to the chronic pain feedback loop. According to Joanna Harnett, an associate professor from the Faculty of Medicine and Health and the study’s lead investigator:
“This is the first study to investigate oral health, oral microbiota and pain commonly experienced in women with fibromyalgia, with our study showing a clear and significant association between poor oral health and pain.”4
Specific Pathogenic Bacteria Strains Are Triggering Severe Pain
One of the most important discoveries was the significant overrepresentation of certain bacteria in women reporting severe body and head pain.5 The researchers found that specific oral microbial species were associated with pain and pain-related conditions.6
• Four specific bacteria were highly associated with worse pain — Parvimonas micra, Solobacterium moorei, Dialister pneumosintes, and Prevotella denticola were found in women with widespread pain. Each of these is a known pathogen linked to either halitosis, periodontal disease, or even serious systemic infections.
These bacteria were also linked to worse oral health scores, suggesting a shared root cause between oral infection and chronic pain conditions.
• Mycoplasma salivarium is strongly associated with migraines — Not just a harmless resident of the mouth, M. salivarium has been found in the joint fluid of people suffering from temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. This painful jaw condition often overlaps with migraine symptoms. The researcher found that migraine sufferers, especially those with chronic or frequent migraines, had an abundance of this bacteria.
• Lancefieldella parvula also showed a strong connection to migraine frequency — According to the study, higher oral abundance of L. parvula also increased the odds of frequent migraine with a statistical significance (q = 0.08), even after adjusting for sugar intake and other lifestyle factors.
• Gardnerella vaginalis was tied to worse oral health and more pain — G. vaginalis is a known opportunistic pathogen that thrives in disrupted microbial environments. Although Gardnerella vaginalis isn’t typically thought of as an oral pathogen, the researchers noted that its presence in the mouth was linked to low oral health scores and increased body pain.
Women Struggling with Pain Had Less Diverse Oral Bacteria Overall
Beyond which microbes were present, the overall diversity of the oral microbiome was also affected. Women with migraine and abdominal pain scored lower on the Shannon diversity index, which is a marker of microbial richness.7
Simply put, their mouths hosted fewer different species, which is a sign of microbial imbalance or dysbiosis. A less diverse microbiome allows harmful bacteria to dominate, creating a cascade of inflammatory signals that heighten pain responses throughout the nervous system.
• Inflammatory chemicals released by oral microbes trigger nerve sensitivity — Certain microbes stimulate your immune cells to release inflammatory compounds like substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). These compounds are well known for their role in enhancing nerve sensitivity and triggering migraine attacks.
• CGRP is one of the key targets for new migraine medications — According to the study, these same compounds are activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a toxin released by gram-negative bacteria like Fusobacterium nucleatum and Dialister pneumosintes — both of which were more abundant in women with higher pain scores.
• Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a role in spreading pain signals through inflammation — VEGF is a chemical that promotes the growth of new blood vessels but also increases inflammation and nerve sensitivity. The authors explained that elevated VEGF levels have been found in people with migraine, fibromyalgia, and even gum disease.
Several oral bacteria, when overgrown, elevate VEGF through immune activation. This explains the chronic, system-wide pain felt by those with poor oral hygiene.
The takeaway is that the bacteria in your saliva don’t just affect your teeth and gums; they influence your whole-body pain response as well. If you’re dealing with migraines, fibromyalgia symptoms, or chronic gut pain, ignoring oral health is no longer an option. Optimizing your oral microbiome might just be the missing piece in your pain recovery journey.
Hormone Fluctuations During Menopause Exacerbate Oral Health Problems
The state of your mouth is deeply connected to your general health and the aging process. In women, going through different life stages means experiencing different hormonal changes. These dramatically impact oral tissues, increasing the risk of certain conditions.8
• Menopause, in particular, presents unique challenges for oral health — Women experience hormonal fluctuations during this time, which worsen oral health problems. The risk of gum disease and dry mouth increases, which leads to further complications if not addressed.
• Oral discomfort leads to increased anxiety and stress — This heightened anxiety, in turn, reduces salivary secretion even more, creating a cycle of worsening dry mouth and discomfort.9
• Yet, many women are unaware of how menopause affects their oral health — According to Delta Dental of California and Affiliates’ 2024 Oral Health and Menopause Survey, over one-third of women aged 40 and older have noticed a decline in their oral health as they age, not realizing that these changes could be linked to menopause.10 This lack of awareness means that many women do not seek the necessary dental care to address these issues promptly.
Although conventional methods of diagnosing oral health problems are generally effective, they must be adapted to consider the hormonal changes women experience. It’s crucial for dentists to be aware of the impact of menopause and other life stages on oral health and provide tailored advice and treatment. For more information, read “Women’s Oral Health: A Key to Overall Well-Being.”
Don’t Let Your Mouth Become a Breeding Ground for Bad Bacteria
If your mouth is sending out signals that amplify pain in your head, gut, and body, then fixing that microbial imbalance is non-negotiable. Here are actionable steps that I recommend:
1. Clean your mouth without destroying the good bacteria — If you’re using antiseptic mouthwash daily, stop. It kills everything, including the beneficial bacteria that help protect your health.
Switch to a more natural approach — brush your teeth and tongue with a gentle, fluoride-free toothpaste at least twice daily, and skip alcohol-based rinses. Use a tongue scraper daily. Your tongue is a microbial reservoir, and removing buildup helps reduce the load of pain-promoting bacteria. You must also floss regularly. Read about the benefits of regular flossing here.
2. Try oil pulling with coconut oil — Coconut oil is antibacterial and antiviral, and oil pulling has been found to reduce gingivitis and plaque, significantly lowering plaque index scores compared to a control group, while also reducing bad bacterial colony counts in saliva.11 Read more about it in “Why Is Oil Pulling Suddenly All the Rage?”
3. Schedule regular dental check-ups — Visit your biological dentist at least every six months for professional cleanings and comprehensive examinations. This will help identify and address problems early, such as gum disease or infections, before they escalate into more serious health concerns.
4. Cut out refined sugar and processed snacks that feed pathogenic bacteria — These pain-driving microbes thrive on sugar and starches that linger in your mouth after meals. If you’re snacking on processed cookies and donuts, or sipping sweet drinks throughout the day, you’re creating a buffet for them.
Instead, space out your meals and focus on whole, unprocessed foods that don’t stick to your teeth. Instead of unhealthy vegetable oils, use tallow, ghee, or grass fed butter. These saturated fats don’t oxidize and won’t feed the bacteria triggering systemic pain. Sip plain water after eating to help wash away residue.
5. Add mouth-friendly carbs back in slowly, starting with pulp-rich fruit — If you’re coming off keto or a low-carb diet, you might need to rebuild your microbiome. But don’t jump straight to juice or starches. I recommend starting with whole fruit or rice. Their fibers feed helpful bacteria without spiking blood sugar or worsening endotoxin problems.
Only after your gut and oral health improve should you reintroduce other carbs like potatoes and legumes — and always chew thoroughly. That alone helps signal the right digestion processes to kick in, which protects your mouth and gut from overgrowth.
6. Fix your gut to fix your mouth — If your digestion is off, and you’re experiencing constipation, bloating and loose stools, your oral microbiome will suffer too. That’s because bacteria from your gut travel back up through the esophagus and colonize your mouth. I recommend you repair both systems together.
If you have a severely impaired gut, sip dextrose water before moving to fruit as tolerated. You’ll start to notice less plaque buildup and a healthier tongue coating when your gut begins to stabilize.
You’re not stuck with the bacteria you have now. They shift quickly once you change what you feed them and how you treat your mouth. If you’re ready to move out of the chronic pain cycle, start with your oral microbiome. That’s where the communication begins.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About the Effects of Poor Oral Health on Pain
Q: How is poor oral health connected to migraines and body pain in women?
A: Poor oral health — especially when marked by imbalanced or harmful oral bacteria — has been strongly linked to increased pain sensitivity, migraines, and widespread body pain in women. A 2025 study found that 58% of women with migraines had the lowest oral health scores.
Specific bacteria such as Mycoplasma salivarium and Gardnerella vaginalis were overrepresented in women experiencing chronic pain, indicating that the oral microbiome may directly influence the nervous system and pain signaling.
Q: Which oral bacteria are most closely linked to chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia and migraine?
A: The study identified several key pain-associated microbes, including Mycoplasma salivarium, Parvimonas micra, Solobacterium moorei, Dialister pneumosintes, and Prevotella denticola. These bacteria produce inflammatory compounds that can heighten nerve sensitivity and are linked to conditions like halitosis, TMJ pain, periodontal disease, and even systemic infections.
Q: Can bacteria from my mouth really affect my brain or body pain levels?
A: Yes. When oral tissues become inflamed or damaged, bacteria and their toxic byproducts can enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system and travel to other parts of the body. Once systemic, they can disrupt immune responses and elevate inflammatory signals like CGRP and VEGF — both of which are involved in migraine and fibromyalgia.
Q: What are the signs that my oral health might be contributing to my chronic pain?
A: If you experience chronic headaches, widespread muscle tenderness, abdominal discomfort, or fatigue — especially alongside visible oral issues like gum bleeding, persistent bad breath, or a white-coated tongue — your oral microbiome might be part of the problem. A lack of microbial diversity in the mouth is also a red flag, as it allows pain-triggering bacteria to dominate.
Q: What can I do to improve my oral microbiome and reduce pain naturally?
A: Start by avoiding harsh mouthwashes that wipe out beneficial bacteria. Clean your tongue daily with a scraper, avoid sugar-heavy and processed foods, and reintroduce mouth-friendly carbs slowly — beginning with whole fruits. Fixing gut health is also key, since bacteria travel between the gut and mouth. Finally, reduce refined oils and focus on natural fats like tallow, ghee, or grass fed butter to prevent feeding inflammatory bacteria.
