A study published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology has found that people with advanced gum disease are much more likely to suffer complications from coronavirus, including being more likely to require a ventilator and to die from the disease.1
The research, which examined more than 500 patients, found those with severe gum disease were up to nine times more likely to die from COVID-19. It also found that patients with the disease were nearly five times more likely to need assisted ventilation.
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Coronavirus has now infected around 4.1 million people in the UK.2 An estimated 90% of UK adults have some form of gum disease.3
The Oral Health Foundation is keen to highlight the importance of taking early action against the signs of gum disease, following research that suggests far too many people ignore it.
Latest figures collected by the charity show almost one-in-five Brits (19%) immediately stop brushing the bleeding area and nearly one in ten (8%) stop brushing altogether.4
References
Marouf N, Cai W, Said K N et al. Association between periodontitis and severity of COVID-19 infection: A case-control study. J Clin Periodontol 2021; https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpe.13435.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK. Daily update. Available at: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/ (accessed March 2021).
Grant M. Nearly all of us have gum disease - so let's do something about it. University of Birmingham, 28 May 2015. Available at: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/thebirminghambrief/items/2015/05/nearly-all-of-us-have-gum-disease-28-05-15.aspx (accessed February 2021)
Oral Health Foundation. National Smile Month Survey 2019. UK: Atomik Research, 2019.
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Gum disease linked to COVID-19 complications. BDJ Team 8, 5 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41407-021-0604-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41407-021-0604-1
