Qatar- Oral health can save people from severe COVID-19 complications: QU research finds

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Doha: More commonly known as gum disease, periodontitis is a severe gum infection characterised by chronic inflammation, whose patients may be at greater risk if exposed to COVID-19.

A research team spearheaded by Dr. Nadia Maarouf, Associate Consultant from Hamad dental Center, and led by Dr. Faleh Tamimi, Professor at Qatar University's (QU) College of Dental Medicine, has demonstrated that there may be a strong association between COVID-19 and oral health. 

While speaking on his research about patients with (periodontitis), Dr. Faleh said: 'In our study, we assessed the dental records of patients that have been infected with COVID-19. We discovered that a substantial portion of the patients that suffered severe COVID-19 complications (including death) had chronic gum infections, also known as periodontal disease. Our study concludes that there is a strong association between the severity of COVID-19 and the presence of periodontitis.

'We found that COVID-19 patients suffering from periodontitis were three times more likely to have severe complications such as admission to the ICU, need for ventilation, and even death. This association was regardless of other medical problems such as diabetes, smoking, age, asthma, and many others, he added. 

This study was led by Qatar Hamad Dental Center and Qatar University, collaborating with McGill University in Canada and the Complutense University in Spain. The team included researchers from Qatar University (Dr. Daas), a graduate student from McGill University ( W Cai), and doctors and staff from Hamad Medical Corporation, such as dental specialists, ICU specialists, and computer engineers. 

'We also had the privilege to count with two world-renowned researchers in periodontitis and epidemiology, like Dr. Mariano Sanz (Spain) and Dr. Belinda Nicolau( McGill University, Canada), added Dr. Faleh. 

Shedding light on the link between periodontitis and COVID-19 complications, Dr. Faleh said: 'There are several ways in which periodontitis could be making coronavirus worse. One possibility is that the bacteria in the mouth could make their way to the lungs and complicate things. Another possibility is that patients with gum diseases have ongoing inflammation in the body that makes their immune system more prone to react in a destructive way to COVID-19. 

The good news is that it is easy to prevent and manage periodontal disease. People need to implement proper oral hygiene after every meal and use dental floss to clean between the teeth. Dentist visits 2 to 3 times per year to check up on oral health, professional cleaning of the teeth is necessary.  

'Having a chronic infection in your mouth is not good for your health. It has been known for some time that periodontitis can have detrimental effects on many systemic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, cancer, pneumonia, Alzheimer's, diabetes, to mention a few, he added. Researchers in Qatar investigated 568 patients who suffered from COVID-19 and found that a significant portion of patients, who suffered severe complications, including death, had an advanced stage of gum disease. 
 

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