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And, Hewlett added, while it’s not clear how long oral symptoms may persist, it appears they may be part of the constellation of symptoms known as “long COVID.” The term refers to patients who continue to struggle with COVID-related health issues months after recovering from many of their initial symptoms.
Oral health issues have already arisen during the pandemic – as many patients have postponed routine checkups.
Hewlett said even those unaffected by COVID-related issues should keep in mind that maintaining good oral health is the key to overall health. Translation: Don’t let fear of COVID lead to a drop in continuing dental care.
“Going to the dentist has been shown to be very safe from the point of view of the risk of COVID-19 infection,” he said.
This advice was endorsed by Dr. Shervin Molayem, a periodontist and implant surgeon who is also director of the Mouth Body Research Institute in Los Angeles.
“People still haven’t gone to dental offices, even though it’s been a year” since the start of the pandemic, he lamented.
“They have given up on their dental routine,” he added. And the result, he said, is increased bleeding gums, periodontal disease and the damaging effects of teeth grinding.
“What causes their teeth grinding at night is probably their secondary stress from the disease itself,” Molayem said. This means that stress from COVID has the potential to cause jaw pain (TMJ), as well as cracked and chipped teeth.
Its end result: pandemic or no pandemic, making dental care a priority.
The research review was recently published in the Journal of Dental Research.
More information
Learn more about COVID-19 and dental health at the American Dental Association.
SOURCE: Edmond Hewlett, DDS, spokesperson, American Dental Association, and professor and and associate dean, equity, diversity and inclusion, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles; Shervin Molayem, DDS, periodontist and implant surgeon, Beverly Hills, Calif., Director, Mouth Body Research Institute, Los Angeles; Dental research journal, July 29, 2021
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