New research has found that people with red hair are more likely to avoid seeing the dentist than others due to low pain tolerance.
According to a new study, published by Journal of American Dental Association, redheads are twice as likely to neglect dental check-ups as they are more sensitive to pain – a factor which researchers believe is partly caused by variants of the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene, which gives skin, hair and eyes their colour.
While scientists do not fully understand the relationship between MC1R and pain sensitivity, they have found MC1R receptors in the brain and claim that some are known to influence pain sensitivity.
Leading the study, Dr Daniel Sessler, an anaesthesiologist at Cleveland Clinic, said: "Redheads are more sensitive to pain than people with other hair colours and will thus experience more discomfort during painful procedures."
"This can lead to dental care -related anxiety and dental care avoidance."
For the research, 67 people with red hair and 77 people with dark hair were each asked to complete a survey designed to measure dental health care-related anxiety, fear or dental pain and previous cases of dental care avoidance.
The research team will now evaluate whether redheads and others with variants of the MCR1 gene require more anaesthesia for dental procedures .
