New Side Effect: COVID-19 Patients Suffer Tooth Loss, Anecdotal Evidence Reveals
Tooth loss is seen as another side effect of having COVID-19, according to anecdotal evidence.
An unexpected losing adult tooth has been reported by COVID-19 patients after they suffered the disease. Dental problems are added to the list of "long COVID symptoms," The Sun reported.
Brain fog, hair loss, fatigue, and muscle pain are persistent COVID-19 symptoms reported following suffering COVID-19 disease. Dentists explained that the coronavirus might irritate the gums through inflammation or damaging blood vessels in the gums. But the evidence is too vague to determine for sure if tooth loss is only coincidental.
Bizarre stories of tooth loss were featured in the New York Times from the so-called "long haulers."
Farah Khemili, 49, from New York, lost a tooth after noticing it had been wobbly. In spring, she had suffered from COVID-19. It was not reported if Khemili was formally diagnosed. But she has a history of dental problems. Besides, Farah's dentist revealed that she recently had bone loss in her mouth due to smoking.
Another unnamed woman had a loose tooth without any blood or pain while eating ice cream.
Meanwhile, a 12-year old boy lost a tooth this month. His mother, Diana Berrent, said nine months ago, her son had COVID-19, warning others to "take Covid seriously".
According to Diana, her son's teeth are healthy, and there is no underlying disease on a long-COVID support page called Survivor Corp., she founded.
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Meanwhile, Dr. William Li, president and medical director of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a nonprofit that studies blood vessels' health and disease, said that teeth falling out without any blood loss is unusual.
William said his team investigates some 'bewildering' issues that COVID-19 patients have months after suffering from the disease. He added that the virus possibly damages blood vessels from keeping the teeth alive, causing a painless fallout.
COVID-19 is also known as blood and vascular disease, aside from being a respiratory condition. This illness makes the blood "stickier" and restricts and damages blood vessels, leading to fatal heart attacks on millions of COVID-19 patients.
The inflammation could be the coronavirus' cause, which irritates the gum, as per Dr. Michael Scherer, a prosthodontist in Sonora, California. People with other inflammatory diseases such as diabetes and heart disease are more likely to have a higher risk of gum disease.
The symptomatic patient is four times more likely to pass on the virus
Symptomatic patients are four times more likely to spread the coronavirus onto others than someone who is asymptomatic, the statistical analysis of contract-tracing reports revealed.
According to News18, the reports showed the highest infection risk came from sharing a roof with an infected person. Meaning, affected [people should be isolated as soon as they develop signs and symptoms of the COVID-19.
Read also: COVID-19 Patients Are Highly Infectious During the First Five Days of Showing Symptoms, Study Finds