Possible Dental Side Effects of Covid-19
[M.D.S. (Ortho), Fellow ICOI]
The COVID-19 has created a massive disastrous effect again. Initially, we thought that the coronavirus would affect the lungs as the contagion share the signs of respiratory illnesses like shortness of breath, sore throat, runny nose, and fatigue. Meanwhile, the doctors observed that the impact of covid infection varies for each person. For instance, some people encounter rashes whereas few people notice hair loss and some people have difficulties like fever, blood clots.
After witnessing the contagion’s first wave, the health experts suspect that the coronavirus might affect oral health also. This is because many coronavirus survivors are saying that they had gum pain, their teeth become darkened, loose, and even fell out.
Despite the impact of the coronavirus on the oral cavity is not identified yet, most of the people who recovered from coronavirus shared various oral health manifestations of coronavirus infection.
How does coronavirus damage your oral health?
Dental health researchers believe that the oral side effects of covid 19 infection mainly occur due to the clogged blood flow and bacteria thrive inside our body.
1) Clogged blood flow
In general, the coronavirus attacks blood vessels that carry blood to the organs and tissues throughout our body. Damage in blood vessels will lead to blood clots followed by obstructing the supply of nutrients to the organs. This is the reason why coronavirus sufferers show symptoms in internal organs like the lungs, heart, and kidney.
The negative impact of blocked blood flow applies to the oral cavity also because when the blood vessels in the gums, teeth, tongue do not receive minerals for effective functioning.
It will reflect as stained teeth, tooth decay, sensitive gums, loss of sensation in the tongue’s taste buds, and other dental discomforts.
2) ACE 2 Receptors
ACE2 (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2) is an enzyme present in the cell membranes of certain organs like arteries, kidneys, lungs, etc. It is the target receptor for COVID 19 to enter the human cell.
It is found that the cells of the oral tissues like the tongue, salivary glands, tonsils contain the ACE2 receptor along with another enzyme called transmembrane protease, serine 2 (TMPRSS). The enzymes allow the microbes to infuse with the membrane and worsen the condition.
Dental doctors suspect that this might lead to bacteria thrive inside our mouth causing various oral complications.
Possible oral manifestations of COVID-19
Here are the possible oral symptoms or side effects associated with coronavirus infection. Most of the problems we shared here typically happen with harboring oral bacteria but the elevation of certain enzymes due to covid 19 cause these problems.
- Gingival inflammation – Coronavirus is associated with immune dysregulation, leading to cytokine and interleukins elevation. Such inappropriate enzyme storms in our body will cause gum or periodontal diseases. Inflammation, bleeding, sensitive feel in gums are the common examples.
- Dry Mouth – The prevalence of ACE2 receptors attached to the salivary glands makes it susceptible to bacterial attacks. When the salivary glands are damaged, it will reduce salivary production and eventually end in xerostomia (Dry Mouth).
- Oral ulcerations – The damage in blood vessels provokes many harmful effects. Oxygen deprivation is one among them. Insufficient oxygen supply will negatively impact the oral cavity with problems like oral ulcerations, oral tissue damage, etc.
- Loss of state – Coronavirus entry through ACE2 receptors in the tongue membranes will disrupt the cranial nerves. It affects the process of neural transmission, which leads to loss of taste and smell.
People who are successfully recovered from the contagion develop dental diseases also tend to continue. It makes most dental doctors ensure the harmful impact of corona on oral health and reveal the things we had discussed.
