COMMENTARY: Are Face Masks bad for your Dental Health?

Infection control disease public health experts indicate that wearing a Face mask, social distancing and washing of hands the most effective tools in stopping the spread of the COVID 19 short of a vaccine. But the question is does wearing a face mask hurt your dental health and can it cause mouth infections?  But the professional and correct answer is unequivocally no; but you may experiencing something totally different and opposite.  If that is your personal case, please don’t blame the mask.

Well for one thing you may notice or be cognizant of your bad breath more while wearing a face mask.  But you can fix that by keeping your mouth clean, cared for and practicing meticulous oral hygiene at home, at work or at school. This would mean brushing and flossing more than twice a day at the mentioned various locations and venues.

There are few reasons to be concerned that your oral health and overall well-being are deteriorating due to the constant and almost non- stop use of wearing face masks. As of now there is no evidence that wearing masks causes or exacerbates   dental disease and other dental risks?

But in a roundabout way, perhaps it’s better said that the face masks are revealing the inadequacy of our typical oral hygiene habits and raising greater oral health awareness.  That can only mean that we probably and most likely need to devote more close attention to our oral healthcare every day. So don’t blame face masks—rather we should take responsibility for your oral health and thus maximum oral breath.

So if your face mask isn’t causing bad breath then what is? Well there might be three main causes: leftover food, bacteria and mouth dryness.

Proper dental cleanings and excellent oral hygiene will remove sticky plaque that entraps food particles and provides a home and ‘highway’ for bacteria and bacterial activity in your oral cavity (mouth). In addition to brushing, flossing to maintain excellent oral health and eliminating halitosis (bad breath), one should drink lots of water.

Dry mouth, also called xerostomia, is the condition of not having enough saliva to keep the mouth wet and lubricated. Dry mouth can happen to anyone occasionally—for example, when one nervous or stressed-during fight or and/freight moments. However, when Dry mouth persists, it can make chewing, swallowing, and even talking difficult.

To avoid and combat Dry mouth, we should drink plenty of water throughout the day and avoiding acidic and alcoholic drinks as much as possible. This encourage and increase saliva flow further protecting you from face mask complications. Mints also assist to mask any bad break as well.

Dry mouth also increases the risk for tooth decay or fungal infections in the mouth because saliva helps keep harmful germs in check. Also Dry mouth is not a normal part of the aging process. People who are experiencing Dry mouth continuously should consult with their dentist or doctor to find out why your mouth is dry in spite of the continuous wearing of face masks.  In that case Dry mouth maybe related to some systemic issues such as diabetes and the types and amount of medications one takes.

But from a dental stand point, ‘Face masks are really about the mask effectively capturing bad odor more effectively than say, breathing into the palm of your hands. So in that regard, Face masks can be considered a good heads- up about bad breath, and proper oral hygiene habits, oral health and consequently, overall health.