The mouth speaks: Ask your patients about their oral health
Did you know that COVID-19 patients can house up to 100 MILLION virus particles per 1 ml of saliva in their mouth?
The mouth is literally a viral factory, and it is the gateway to the rest of the body. Indeed, gum disease, otherwise known as periodontitis, has now been shown to be a better predictor of COVID-19 severity than a patient's age. This is HUGE.
Could the simple use of mouthwash and improved oral hygiene improve patient outcomes?
Way back in December of 2020 I interviewed Fabiano Vieira Vilhena, PhD. from Trials Health about their RCT study that was showing a novel mouthwash from Brazil was showing evidence of decreasing both viral load and length of hospital stay. Though their research was of high quality, this team has had nothing but trouble in getting their message and their product into the hands of the public.
Periodontal diseases are prevalent both in developed and developing countries and affect about 20-50% of the global population. We know that poor oral health has been linked to respiratory disease, rheumatoid arthritis, coronary artery disease and problems controlling blood sugar in diabetes. In addition, we know that many COVID-19 patients report mouth ulcers during the time of infection.
As outlined in my most recent video, Radiologist Dr. Graham Lloyd-Jones has explained how the SARS-CoV-2 virus gains entry into the body via the upper airways and causes an unconventional pneumonia or vasculopathy that is leading scientists to believe that the mouth and nasal passages could be a gateway for the virus to reach the rest of the body.
Dr. Lloyd-Jones now believes that the mouth is the most accessible place for us to effectively kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Furthermore, the Salisbury Hospital in the UK has now instituted an Oral Care Protocol for all of their patients based on evidence that good oral hygiene, including using a mouthwash improves outcomes, and even decreases length of hospital stay.
This might be a good time to ask your patients when they last saw their dentist, and remind them about the importance of good oral hygiene.
Learn more about the work of Dr. Graham Lloyd-Jones in my latest video.
References:
Prevalence of periodontal disease, its association with systemic diseases and prevention: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5426403/
The protein expression profile of ACE2 in human tissues: https://www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.15252/msb.20209610
Association between periodontitis and severity of COVID-19 infection: A case–control study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5426403/
Elevated ACE-2 expression in the olfactory neuroepithelium: implications for anosmia and upper respiratory SARS-CoV-2 entry and replication: https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/56/3/2001948
The COVID-19 Pathway: A Proposed Oral-Vascular-Pulmonary Route Of SARS-CoV-2 Infection And The Importance Of Oral Healthcare Measures: https://www.genesispub.org/j-oral-med-and-dent-res/the-covid-19-pathway-a-proposed-oral-vascular-pulmonary-route-of-sars-cov-2-infection-and-the-importance-of-oral-healthcare-measures
Beneficial effects of a mouthwash containing an antiviral phthalocyanine derivative on the length of hospital stay for COVID-19: randomized trial:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-99013-5