What is meant by Mask mouth? It is very important to wear a face mask to protect us from COVID-19. At the same time, new oral health and medical issues started to begin after wearing it for a long period of time. You would have observed some oral health issues and the smell of your own breath.
How a face mask protects us from COVID-19? Whenever a person wearing a mask sneezes, coughs, or speaks, this simple barrier helps prevent respiratory droplets from spreading through the air and then into other people. This is why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone to wear a mask for protection.
What is a Mask mouth? An emerging oral issue that occurs due to wearing a face mask is called mask mouth. Some research says, about 50% of people are affected by the signs of mask mouth. Patients who have healthy gums and teeth and have no history of oral problems are now getting affected by dental problems. This is not due to poor oral hygiene, but due to the direct result of wearing the mask.
Wearing you wear a mask, the mouth gets dried easily. When there is dryness in your mouth viruses and bacteria breed quickly and grow. Saliva is a great protective barrier that prevents bacteria and viruses from entering our bodies directly.
Impact of face mask on oral health This protective equipment that safeguards us from COVID-19 is now creating a direct impact on our oral health.
1) Bad breath If your mouth gets dried for a long time odor-causing bacteria grow easily. It will be a perfect environment for the bacteria to breed when the mouth gets dried. This creates a condition called Bad breath or Halitosis. Many patients have said that they have noticed changes in their breath after wearing a face mask for a long time period.
2) Gum inflammation Inflammation in your gums occurs when your immune system of the body finds an increase in viruses and bacteria. This is a sign that too many bacteria in your mouth are attacking the gums. This may lead to gum disease or periodontal disease.
3) Increased tooth decay When your mouth gets dried because of wearing masks, the production of saliva gets reduced. Saliva helps in flushing the food particles in our teeth. Sugar feeds the bacteria to grow and if the food particles stuck on the teeth are not being removed, tooth decay occurs.
4) Gum disease Periodontal disease occurs when there is inflammation in the gums occurs. Once you get gum disease, it cannot be reversed and needs care until the rest of your life. This will damage your bone structure and gums slowly in your mouth. You won’t notice any sign until your gums begin to get inflamed and recede.
Changing your breathing and drinking behaviors We know it is very difficult to drink water and keep your body hydrated while wearing the mask. Wearing a mask even makes you forget the habit of drinking water frequently. People just breathe in their mouths to enhance inhalation capacity while wearing a mask. This, in turn, creates dryness in the mouth and creates various dental problems. Always try to breathe in your nose and drink water often to reduce dryness in the mouth and prevent dental problems. In this pandemic, with our COVID-19 protocols, stay top of your oral hygiene by visiting our dental clinic for all types of dental treatments.
Dr. Suresh