Cold, Flu And Covid – Potential Effects On Oral Health

Viral illness is commonplace at the moment, so how do we reduce their effect on our teeth and gums?

fast dental careAlthough we are slowly coming out of winter, there are still a number of viruses circulating which seem to be affecting a lot of people. Whether these are colds, flu or Covid, anyone who has these should not only take care of themselves generally, but also do what they can to ensure that these infections don’t have a negative impact on their oral health.

With some of these viruses lasting for a week or two, this is a significant length of time if you neglect your teeth and gums and may cause the onset of a number of dental issues. In today’s blog, the Foxhall Dental Practice takes a look at some of these issues, and what can be done to minimise any risks they may cause.

Dry mouth and dehydration

One of the most immediately noticeable effects of many viruses is that they often cause us to become dehydrated. Even if we may not feel like it, drinking plenty of water is very beneficial when we are ill. From an oral health perspective, a dry mouth will greatly increase the risk of gum disease for our Ipswich patients. This dry and warm environment leads to a growth in the number of potentially harmful oral bacteria and the likelihood of gingivitis and periodontitis is greatly heightened. As readers will know from our previous blogs, this can have  devastating effects, including the loss of teeth if not treated early enough. Make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the duration of your illness and avoid sugary drinks as much as possible.

Mouth breathing

This relates to the above. As our noses become blocked when we have a cold etc, we tend to breathe through our mouths. This is also a contributory factor to a dry mouth and although it may not be possible during all stages of your infection, do try to revert to breathing through your nose as soon as you can, and keep drinking plenty of water too.

Exhaustion and poor oral care

Although our bodies come under attack from all sides when we have a virus, there are things that we can do to ensure that our teeth and gums remain reasonably well protected. One of the most obvious of these is to continue a regular oral health regimen of brushing and flossing our teeth.  Unfortunately, as anyone who has been hit with one of these viruses will attest, it can sometimes feel too much of an effort even to reach for the TV remote to change the channel, let alone getting up to brush your teeth.  This is understandable, but it really is important that you don’t neglect your tooth care at this time, and, however exhausted you might feel, it is essential that you brush your teeth both morning and the very last thing before you go to bed at night. Try also to maintain flossing as part of your regime. These simple actions will go a long way to protecting your teeth and gums at this vulnerable time.

Change of diet

Whether we generally eat healthily or not, you can be sure that when we go down with a virus, our diets will change. The last thing that most people want to eat when they are ill is a healthy salad meal. It is also far more likely that we will reach for snack foods that don’t require cooking. Very often these are high in sugars, which as we know, is very harmful for our teeth. Covid is often found to result in a loss of taste too, and this is likely to change what we eat, usually for the worse. Although some deterioration in the quality of our diet is almost inevitable when we are ill, do try to keep this in mind and try not to eat too much sugary foods.

Medications

Many medicines that we might take to relieve our symptoms also use a sugary syrup, often to mask what would otherwise be a bitter taste. The main danger with these is that we may find that when we lie down  to go to sleep, if we start to cough, we might reach for these or a cough sweet to ease the discomfort. Unfortunately, this will inevitably happen after we have cleaned our teeth at night. This means that teeth will be coated in sugar all night while we sleep, increasing the risk of tooth decay. Either avoid doing this or seek out a sugar free cough medicine or sweet to use instead.

Lemon drinks

Finally, many people will turn to a hot drink with honey and lemon in it. We are not saying don’t do this, but do be mindful that honey contains sugar and lemon is a highly acidic ingredient that can lead to enamel erosion of our teeth. Try to restrict these for when you need them most.

Hopefully, spring will soon be here and most of the viruses will be behind us. If you have been through a virus and feel that you have neglected your teeth and gums during this time, you might wish to consider making an appointment at our Ipswich dental clinic to have a check up and possibly a thorough cleaning by our resident hygienist.

If you would like to make an appointment with us for this, or for any other reason, you can call the Foxhall Dental Practice on 01473 258396.