We have heard of many Covid-19 patients reporting quite a few bizarre symptoms, including loss of sense of smell and taste. Now, survivors who had recovered from the viral infection months ago, have started to report dental issues.
According to The New York Times, one woman who lost a tooth this month, had tested positive for Covid-19 in Spring.
Farah Khemili, 43, from New York, noticed her tooth getting wobbly before losing it while she popped a wintergreen breath mint in her mouth and noticed a strange sensation.
Meanwhile, a 12-year-old boy was also reported to have lost a tooth following his Covid-19 diagnosis. His mother, Diana Berrent, took to Twitter to urge people to take the virus seriously.
She said: “My 12-year-old boy lost an adult front tooth and his other teeth are loose… it turns out from vasculature damage 9 months after Covid. Omg. PLEASE… I beg of you, take this seriously. For you. For your kids. For everyone.”
My 12yo just lost an adult front tooth and his other teeth are loose… it turns out from vasculature damage 9 months after Covid.
Omg. PLEASE… I beg of you, take this seriously. For you. For your kids. For everyone.
— Diana (Berrent) Güthe (legacy blue checked) (@dianaberrent) November 10, 2020
Khemili survived Covid-19 this spring, and has joined an online support group (Facebook page for people who have lived through Covid-19) as she has endured a slew of symptoms experienced by many other “long haulers like brain fog, muscle aches, and nerve pain.
Among members of her support group, she found others who also described teeth falling out, as well as sensitive gums and teeth turning gray or chipping.
📍Think you're finished with Covid when you feel better? Think again.
People's teeth are falling out months later!!!🦷🦠🦷🦠
This is NOT the flu.
A 🧵 from the @nytimes ⬇️#StayHome @dianaberrent #LongCovid @wudanyan #MedTwitter @AmerDentalAssn @ADANews @NYSDentalAssn https://t.co/JhJ17EKgsr— Survivor Corps (@Survivor_Corps) November 26, 2020
She and other survivors unnerved by Covid’s well-documented effects on the circulatory system, as well as symptoms such as swollen toes and hair loss, suspect a connection to tooth loss as well.
There’s no rigorous evidence yet that the infection can lead to tooth loss or related problems.
Some dentists, citing a lack of data, are skeptical that Covid-19 alone could cause dental symptoms. “It’s extremely rare that teeth will literally fall out of their sockets,” said Dr. David Okano, a periodontist at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
However, others suggest that tooth loss may be a consequence of limited access to dentist surgeries during the lockdown.
Professor Damien Walmsley, the scientific adviser at the British Dental Association, said: “Long Covid is a debilitating condition, and ongoing symptoms can include breathlessness, chest pain, brain fog, and anxiety among others.
One woman lost a tooth while eating ice cream. Eileen Luciano of Edison, New Jersey, had a top molar pop out in early November when she was flossing. “That was the last thing that I thought would happen, that my teeth would fall out,” Luciano said.
“We are now beginning to examine some of the bewildering and sometimes disabling symptoms that patients are suffering months after they’ve recovered from Covid,” including these accounts of dental issues and teeth loss, said Dr. William W. Li, president and medical director of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a nonprofit that studies the health and disease of blood vessels.
Teeth falling out without any blood is unusual, inflammation could attack the gums and mouth, which might be able to trigger tooth loss, Li said, and provides a clue that there might be something going on with the blood vessels in the gums.