Posted on 07/21/2020 3:09:38 PM PDT by george76
LUBBOCK, Texas — A Houston dentist has said that an increase in cavities in her patients could be linked to dry mouth caused by wearing face masks.
According to board-certified dentist Dr. Piya Gandhi, breathing through your mouth reduces saliva, which helps protect your teeth from cavities and decay. Mouth breathing already increases your risk of cavities, and breathing heavily through your mouth from under the mask could increase that risk even more. The face mask itself doesn’t lead to cavities — it’s the way that people breathe while wearing them.
“Now that a lot of us are mouth breathing while we have our masks on, we’re drying out all that saliva that usually protects us from getting cavities, and that’s increasing our risk of cavities,” Dr. Gandhi said.
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There’s no question that dry mouth can cause cavities,” said Dr. Blake Johnston, co-owner of Hancock and Johnston Dentistry.
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If left untreated, something as simple as a cavity could lead to more severe medical issues and even affect your heart and inflame your blood.
“Any time that you have a toothache — that could lead to an infection or an issue in the mouth and the rest of the body,” Johnston said.
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To combat cavities when your wear your mask, they suggest staying hydrated, taking mask breaks when safe and chewing on gum and mints, as long as they’re sugar free.
(Excerpt) Read more at everythinglubbock.com ...
Is there an element of people who wear masks not brushing their teeth because no one will see?
That explains all those toothless surgeons out there who have been wearing those surgical masks every working day for decades...
Try a rinse for dry mouth like Biotene, who also has a dry mouth oral spray.
5 years ago I was being treated, by radiation, for prostate cancer. My dentist prescribed a therapeutic mouth wash. Dry mouth is a side effect of the radiation. If the mouth is dry, no good bacteria to fight the bad
This how zombies were formed. ...
With so many people on this planet, there’s at least a few...
Why do masks make us breathe through our mouths?
Don’t need to go to the dentist if the mask hides everything below the nose.
There ya go.
That's pretty silly, and not true.
My son has sinus problems, and the N95 mask was pinching his nose so he breathed out of his mouth more. Wearing it for long periods (all day at work with some breaks) his lips got chapped.
Then that turned into a staph infection.
He wears the looser fitting hospital masks now. It probably doesn’t protect him very much, but at least he doesn’t have to deal with staph infections.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some dentists are just trying to make up for their lost wages over the last 3+ months.
My wife had never had a cavity her entire life. We moved to another state and she found some dentist. He cleaned her teeth and said he found 4 cavities that needed to be filled.
She called her old dentist that explained things to her (he had some explanation that he had seen those areas but they weren’t cavities). We found another dentist. I think she is still cavity free.
Not mine.
“something as simple as a cavity could lead to more severe medical issues and even affect your heart and inflame your blood. ‘Any time that you have a toothache — that could lead to an infection or an issue in the mouth and the rest of the body,’ Johnston said.”
Infections in teeth/gums are notorious for getting into the bloodstream and attacking artificial joints. Hips, knees, etc., often have to be removed and not replaced until the infection is gone and the area “cleaned out”. Some people with these prostheses have to take mega doses of antibiotics an hour prior to something as simple as a teeth cleaning.
I’m pretty sure I don’t want to risk that.
My hygienist said she could tell I probably breathe through my mouth at night, then I later noticed she was right.
I knew that I should have clarified “teeth cavities”!
Reminds me of the joke about the guy up in Heaven that wanted to visit his buddy down in Hell. “Okay but just once.”
So the guy gets down there and his buddy his in a fancy room with all sorts of beautiful women and the finest bottles of wine and booze.
“Wow!! This is unbelievable!! If I had known what Hell was going to be like I might have made a different choice. I mean, look at all this!!!”
“Oh - don’t let the looks deceive you.”
“What!!?? Pretty women, finest booze, what do you mean!!??”
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“No holes.”
I’m a dental hygienist. Surgeons generally have horrible oral hygiene...if you can even get them into the office for regular dental exams and cleanings. I AM seeing a lot of dry mouths from wearing masks.
If it’s too difficult to breathe in and out through your nose while wearing a mask, then breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. I’ve done a few heavy physical activities in the past including using three different kinds of mouthpieces, each for different sports.
I use mouthwash before I go to bed at night. I sleep all night. It’s when I wake up in the morning that my mouth and throat are dry. The rest of the day it’s fine. It’s only since I’ve had to take that blood pressure pill at night that sometimes my tongue periodically gets stuck to the roof of my mouth. Never had the problem before that.
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