Although it is not denied that wearing a mask can help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, dentists and doctors now have a stinking and serious side effect to the practice. It is already called “mask mouth” and refers to new problem in oral hygiene, which leads to bad breath, tooth shrinkage and recurrent gums caused by the constant use of face mask.
“We see inflammation in the gums of people who have been healthy forever, and cavities in people who have never had them,” said Dr. Rob Ramondi, co-founder of Manhattan Dental, to the New York Post. “About 50% of our patients are affected by this, so we decided to call it ‘mask mouth’ – after ‘meth mouth,'”
Methamphetamine addicts often ignore their dental hygiene and end up with cracked and burnt teeth and grinding teeth, which is why dentists coined the term ‘meth mouth’.
Mask mouth can be serious, experts say, pointing to periodontal disease can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke, according to the Post. Wearing a mask reduces the amount of saliva in the mouth, which helps fight bacteria and clean your teeth, preventing tooth shrinkage and gum disease. Dry mouth due to lack of saliva can be prevented by drinking more water, cutting caffeine, a tongue scraper and a non-alcoholic mouthwash.
A leading dentist from Houston, Texas, suggests that it is not so much the masks that cause dry mouth, but how we breathe when we wear them, that is the problem.
“Now that many of us are breathing our mouths while wearing our masks, we are drying out all that saliva that normally protects us from cavities,” said Dr. Piya Gandhi. She suggests that people continue to wear their masks, but try to breathe through their noses and make sure they have regular appointments for teeth, she told KAMC News, in Lubbock, Texas.
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