Flu Season – Protecting Your Oral Health

With flu seemingly in full swing, what can you do to protect your teeth if you fall ill?

It can’t have escaped the notice of our Ipswich patients that there is an awful lot of flu about at the moment, with medical staff in hospitals, in the papers, describing each day as a ‘permanent winter’. Flu can be very serious of course, especially for the most vulnerable, but even for those who are young and healthy, flu can have a real impact on our lives and render us fairly ‘useless’ for up to a week or so before we start to feel better.

There is plenty of advice available on what to do if you have the flu and you should follow reputable advice from places like the NHS website etc. There is much less said about the possible impact that it can have on your oral health during this time, and, as it is so prevalent at the moment, it seems like a good time to address this.

Keeping to your oral care routine

This is something that we do on a daily basis, and sometimes do it without thinking about it (although it is beneficial from time to time to make sure you are doing it properly). When we are ill with something like the flu though, even the simple things become more difficult, even something that will make us feel better like making a hot soup can seem so much effort, even when it comes out of a can.

How much harder then does it feel to drag ourselves to the bathroom to clean our teeth. A little ‘furriness’ in the mouth seems barely a problem compared with how the rest of our body feels. Failing to brush and floss regularly though can lead to problems as you come out of your illness. Plaque may start to affect your teeth as the bacteria within it feed on the sugars and starches that you failed to brush away, and your gums may start to feel a little tender and possibly even bleed as gum disease takes hold.

However hard it feels, do try to stick to a good oral health cleaning regime. This is one of the main things that you should do to help maintain a healthy mouth when you have the flu, but there are a number of others that are important too.

Keep well hydrated

You are likely to become more dehydrated as your body fights the infections. Drinking plenty of plain water will help with this. It will also help to wash away at least some of the sugars in your mouth caused by not only foods and drinks, but also lozenges and medications you might be taking to ease the symptoms. Many of these are sticky, and drinking water will help to reduce this as well as reduce the risk of gum disease.

Try to avoid acidic food and drinks

As we have mentioned before, we see far too many people who come to the Foxhall Dental Practice with worn tooth enamel caused by acidic drinks. Some of the worst offenders are the ‘energy’ or ‘sports’ drinks that seem popular at the moment. These are both high in sugar and very acidic. As you feel your energy levels drop when you are ill, you might be tempted to try to ‘keep going’ by using these drinks. This could cause real and permanent problems for your teeth, leaving them more vulnerable to tooth decay and an increasing amount of tooth sensitivity. Both of these problems may end up requiring fillings or even fitting of porcelain teeth veneers to address the sensitivity. Our advice is to stick to water as much as you can.

Problems during the illness

One thing that you don’t want to have is a problem with your teeth while you are struggling with illness. If this does happen though, you shouldn’t ignore it, and especially if it is an emergency, you should still give us a call for advice. We will be able to offer help on how to care for the problem until such time that you recover and can have it treated properly.

One common problem that people might notice when ill with the flu or even colds, is that their rear teeth hurt. Naturally, the patient suspects that they have tooth decay and it should certainly be checked. In many cases though, this is caused by pressure being put on the teeth due to infections of the sinus cavity which sits directly above them. As the virus recedes, you are likely to notice the discomfort decreasing and no treatment is the likely outcome.

After the virus

As you start to recover, you should check to make sure that you haven’t slipped too much while cleaning your teeth. It is possible that some areas have been brushed but perhaps not as well as they should have been. As you start to feel better, pay particular attention to these areas to help rectify any issues that might be slowly building.

Remember that our Ipswich dentists are always here to provide any advice that you need. If you have any doubts at all about your oral health after something like the flu or any significant illness, it is a good time to call us for a check up appointment, even if you had one just a few months earlier. Your teeth are more vulnerable at this time and catching any issues in their early stages makes them more easily treatable and provides a better outcome, so don’t be afraid to add an extra check up appointment to your usual ones if you feel the need.

Finally, as a precaution, once you have recovered from the flu, throw away your toothbrush or change the head of an electric one. Some germs may linger on the brush and there is a small chance of reinfection so it is better not to take the risk.

We hope that you manage to avoid the flu and any other illnesses that tend to occur at this time of the year, and, as this is the last blog of 2025, please allow us all at the Foxhall Dental Practice to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.