We’ve all heard the phrase “wash your hands” countless times during the COVID-19 pandemic. But has anyone reminded you to brush your teeth?
After a recent study found a link between gum disease and COVID-19 deaths, dentists worldwide are urging people to take better care of their teeth. Called “The Mouth-Covid Connection” and conducted by Dr. Shervin Molayem of Los Angeles and Dr. Carla Cruvinel Pontes of Cape Town, the study found that patients who suffered from periodontitis, a severe gum infection, before contracting COVID-19 were far more likely to die from the disease.
“If you want to fight COVID-19, you have to be completely healthy. And when we say completely healthy, we mean everything, including your teeth and gums,” explains Dr. Glenn Vo, dentist and founder of Denton Smiles Dentistry in Texas. “People tend to forget that their mouth is part of their body, and keeping it healthy will make them stronger when they’re faced with a disease like COVID.”
The study found that periodontal status and missing teeth were significantly associated with lung function, airflow limitation and reduced lung volume. Periodontitis creates a build-up of harmful IL-6 proteins that can spread to the lungs and generate a devastating respiratory crisis. “That’s why it’s so important to see the dentist, because if you have all this buildup, well, that buildup has bacteria. You’re breathing it in and it leads to respiratory problems,” says Vo. “That’s why a lot of older patients who haven’t kept up with the dentist and have all these infections are more suspectable to pneumonia.”
Dr. Vo’s advice? Don’t skip your annual dental exam and cleaning! Vo uses a cooking analogy to explain the importance of dental check-ups, especially in our current state. “If you’re cooking spaghetti sauce on the stove and it burns, you can’t just wash it off with soap and water. You have to scrape it off, and that damages the pan,” he says. “It’s the same with your teeth. If you haven’t had a cleaning in a while, the build-up cakes on your teeth and you can’t just brush it off; you need a dentist to remove it.”
According to researcher Dr. Molayem, the results were not shocking. “Gum disease has been linked to other breathing ailments, including pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, so we weren’t surprised to find a link to respiratory problems with COVID-19,” he said.
Periodontitis is the most under-diagnosed disease in dentistry, so if you think you may have it, seek treatment as soon as possible. Symptoms include swollen or puffy gums, bright-red, dusky-red or purplish gums, bad breath, gums that bleed easily, and a pink-tinged toothbrush after brushing.
“As the death toll keeps climbing, the CDC now predicts the virus will be among the leading causes of death in the United States, just behind heart disease and cancer,” said Dr. Molayem. “Periodontitis can make it even deadlier, if you’re worried that you may have gum disease, your next trip to the dentist may actually save your life.”
