New Side Effect: COVID-19 Patients Suffer Tooth Loss, Anecdotal Evidence Reveals

By Madelaine D. First Posted: Nov 29, 2020 11:01 PM EST

Tooth loss is seen as another side effect of having COVID-19, according to anecdotal evidence.

New Side Effect: COVID-19 Patients Suffer Tooth Loss, Anecdotal Evidence Reveals

(Photo : Leon Neal/Getty Images)
UK Dentists Provide Emergency Care Through Coronavirus Outbreak LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 28: Dentist Fiez Mughal (L) and Dental Nurse Johanna Bartha (R) carry out a procedure on a patient in one of the six surgery rooms at East Village dental practice on May 28, 2020 in London, England. With dental staff facing a greater chance of infection due to airborne COVID-19 particles created during certain procedures, many have been forced to close throughout the lockdown with only emergency procedures still taking place at selected practices. Full PPE must be worn whenever a procedure is expected to involve the creation of airborne contaminants, with each surgery room then left for an hour for them to settle, before a disinfection process takes place. During the average day, around twelve patients will actually be seen by the staff, while over thirty more are assisted over the telephone.

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.

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.