(ANSA) - ROME, OCTOBER 11 - Poor oral hygiene could favor Covid in a more serious form, especially in patients with heart disease.
This is what emerges from a work by Ahmed Mustafa Basuoni, of the University of Cairo, which will be presented at the hybrid meeting ACC Middle East 2021, in partnership with the American College of Cardiology, Egyptian Society of Cardiology and the ACC EgyptChapter.
The oral cavity is an important reserve of respiratory pathogens. Previous clinical trials have linked poor oral hygiene with increased inflammation and cardiovascular problems. According to the researchers, the severity of COVID-19 is in turn linked to the body's inflammatory response.
The study included 86 Covid patients with previous heart disease. The experts measured everyone's oral hygiene with an ad hoc index and also the levels of inflammation with a blood sample. A correlation has emerged between poor oral hygiene, inflammation and severe Covid inform.
"The tissues of the oral cavity could act as a reserve of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, developing a high viral load in the mouth - explains Basuoni. Therefore we recommend the maintenance of oral health and the improvement of oral hygiene measures during the infection".
"Simple measures - such as practicing mouth hygiene, having regular dental visits, especially for patients with cardiovascular problems,using mouthwashes - could help prevent or reduce the severity of COVID-19 ".
"The results of this clinical study are in line with those of two other studies already published this year relating to the correlation between covid, oral and systemic health - comments Nicola Marco Sforza, President-elect of SIdP (Italian Society of Periodontology and Implantology). with the high levels of inflammation induced by poor oral hygiene, cause of gingival diseases. This inflammation - he adds - would determine for the patient suffering from covid a greater risk of incurring serious pulmonary complications, making him more susceptible to the inflammatory "storm" triggered by Sars-Cov-2 . The results of this study - concludes Sforza - confirm the importance of oral health and the need for correct oral-home hygiene on the part of the patient,as well as a correct prevention and possible treatment of gum diseases, especially in patients with cardiovascular problems ".
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