Researchers have discovered a link between severe gum disease and the severity of COVID-19 and said that improving oral health may decrease the complications associated with the pandemic.
An oral specialist at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Dr Dolapo Adekanmbi disclosed this. He admonished Nigerians to value and take care of their oral mouth.
The expert in a statement on Monday, said: “The mouth reflects one’s general health. A look into the mouth can help to diagnose some disease conditions if present. Some disease conditions such as Diabetes Mellitus and Human immunodeficiency virus can be diagnosed in the mouth and not only can they be diagnosed, these conditions can worsen if the mouth is not well taken care of and they can also have negative effects on the mouth. So, the relationship between oral diseases and systemic diseases is a bilateral and reversible one.
“Generally, people are biased about their systemic health and have placed a lesser value on the care of their mouth. The reason for this is not far-fetched; chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus and kidney failure are considered more life-threatening and therefore receive more attention. While this is true, most people do not know the impact their oral health can have on such systemic disease conditions.
“Recently, researchers have discovered a link between severe gum disease and the severity of COVID-19 and that improving oral health may decrease the complications associated with COVID-19.
“This is so worthy of note in this pandemic as it further emphasizes the importance of being deliberate in keeping good oral hygiene,” Adekamnbi said.
The expert added that systemic diseases also impact negatively on the mouth, advising people to stay away from smoking.
“For example, diabetes mellitus a disease condition associated with chronic hyperglycaemia has been shown to have drastic effects in the mouth which include multiple periodontal or gum abscesses, dry mouth, burning or peppery sensation in the mouth, dental caries, candidiasis and a host of others.
“In addition, it is important to note that aside from disease conditions, there are some habits with deleterious effects in the mouth such as smoking, nail-biting, thumb sucking, bruxism and clenching. Smoking is a dangerous habit that has been strongly linked to oral cancers. Oral cancers are one of the leading causes of death globally,” she said.