It has been nearly four years since the world went into lockdown, and for many, the effects of that period can still be seen in work, health care, and finances. During that period of time, many health-based professions only saw emergency cases, meaning that when it came to dental care, unless you had an abscess or another emergency, you weren’t going to be able to get an appointment.
This led to a rise in people not following up with dental appointments when restrictions were lifted. Here, however, you will be guided through why you really need to attend a dental check-up after COVID-19, even if your teeth look and feel fine.
Stress-Related Dental Problems
It has long been established that stress can have an enormous impact on the body, including the teeth. So, even if you feel fine now, post-pandemic, the impact of Covid on your teeth can look like damage caused by bruxism or jaw clenching. This is a stress response and has been reported to have increased in number across dental surgeries in the last few years, linking it to the pandemic. To prevent any more damage from occurring and to prevent the likelihood of developing temporomandibular joint disorder or TMJ, it is worth seeing a dental team. Remember, not all teeth that are cracked are sensitive, and a cracked tooth is
more likely to become decayed or even break when pressure is applied to it.
Changes In Oral Hygiene
During the pandemic, there was a lack of access to toothpaste and other necessities, as many people were struggling to find enough to eat. Again, this lack of access, paired with a change in oral care, has led to an increase in dental issues, such as cavities and periodontal disease. Even if your oral health was in pretty good condition before the world went into lockdown, it is still important to attend a dental checkup to make sure that you have no gum issues and that your teeth are all in good condition.
Delay In Dental Care
As mentioned before, during the pandemic, the only people who would be able to get an appointment with their dentist would have had abscesses, swelling to the face, or would have lost fillings and crowns. So, that meant that the average checkup was overlooked by dental teams, which led to a real delay in dental care. This lack of checking on the teeth will have allowed cavities to grow, loose fillings to become looser, and gum disease to get worse.
Dry Mouth
You may not be aware, but saliva in the mouth is crucial to keeping your teeth free from debris, which can cause dental decay. If you were diagnosed with COVID-19, then some of the medications that were used to treat it were linked to dry mouth, which, again, increases the chances of decay and cracking to the teeth.
Inflammation
COVID-19 went hand in hand with extreme inflammation responses, as it is part of the body’s natural defense. However, this can also impact the gums, as inflammatory responses can worsen the chances of developing oral ulcers, mucosal lesions, and even oral thrush, as well as gingivitis. So, if you have skipped a few checkups and you have COVID, please get to a dentist for a checkup as soon as you can.