In a new study from Cairo University, researchers found a strong between poor oral health and COVID-19 severity, as well as a link between oral health and delayed recovery.
The finding demonstrates a potential need to consider oral health an additional risk factor for cardiac patients who may contract COVID-19.
The oral cavity is a potential reservoir for respiratory pathogens. Previous trials have linked poor oral hygiene with increased inflammation and heart disease.
According to the researchers, COVID-19 severity has also been linked to an inflammatory response.
The researchers hypothesized that increased COVID-19 severity may be linked to poor oral health status, especially in patients with heart diseases.
In the study, the team tested 86 heart disease patients with a confirmed COVID-19 PCR test. They assessed oral health status, the severity of COVID-19 symptoms, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and duration of recovery.
They found the correlation between oral health and COVID-19 severity showed a strong inverse relationship, as did the correlation between oral health with recovery period and CRP values.
Poor oral health was correlated to increased values of CRP and delayed recovery, especially in patients with cardiac diseases.
The team says oral tissues could act as a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2, developing a high viral load in the oral cavity.
They recommended maintenance of oral health and improving oral hygiene measures, especially during COVID-19 infection.
Simple measures like practicing proper oral hygiene, raising awareness of oral health importance either in relation to COVID-19 infection or systemic diseases by using media and community medicine, regular dental visits, especially in patients with CVD, and using antimicrobial mouthwashes could help in preventing or decreasing the severity of COVID-19 disease.
If you care about tooth health, please read studies about common mouthwash may increase risk of tooth damage and findings of this toothpaste may help prevent heart attack, stroke by detecting plaque.
For more information about tooth health and diseases, please see recent studies about this chemical in drinking water linked to tooth decay and results showing that new high-tech mouthwash could kill tooth bacteria effectively.
The study was presented at ACC Middle East 2021. One author of the study is Ahmed Mustafa Basuoni, MD.
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