{"id":24232,"date":"2020-08-10T16:46:36","date_gmt":"2020-08-10T20:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=24232"},"modified":"2020-08-10T16:46:36","modified_gmt":"2020-08-10T20:46:36","slug":"now-the-dentists-are-telling-us-about-mask-mouth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=24232","title":{"rendered":"Now the dentists are telling US about ‘mask mouth’."},"content":{"rendered":"

‘Mask mouth’: Dentists coin new term for smelly side effect of wearing a mask<\/h1>\n

By Melkorka Licea | New York Post<\/p>\n

\"\"

The new oral hygiene issue \u2014 caused by, you guessed it, wearing a mask all the time to prevent the spread of the coronavirus \u2014 is leading to all kinds of dental disasters like decaying teeth, receding gum lines and seriously sour breath. (iStock)<\/p><\/div>\n

Some bad breath just can\u2019t be covered up.<\/p>\n

Now that dentists have reopened their doors, they\u2019re having patients show up with a nasty set of symptoms, which the doctors have dubbed \u201cmask mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new oral hygiene issue \u2014 caused by, you guessed it,\u00a0wearing a mask all the time\u00a0to prevent the spread of the\u00a0coronavirus\u00a0\u2014 is leading to all kinds of dental disasters like decaying teeth, receding gum lines and seriously sour breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing inflammation in people\u2019s gums that have been healthy forever, and cavities in people who have never had them before,\u201d says Dr. Rob Ramondi, a dentist and co-founder of One Manhattan Dental. \u201cAbout 50% of our patients are being impacted by this, [so] we decided to name it \u2018mask mouth\u2019 \u2014 after \u2018meth mouth.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n

The term \u201cmeth mouth\u201d is widely used by dentists to describe the dental problems that arise among methamphetamine users. Addicts often end up with cracked, black- and brown-stained teeth because the stimulant causes sugar cravings, teeth grinding and jaw clenching. They also often neglect their oral hygiene.<\/p>\n

While mask mouth isn\u2019t quite as obvious, if left untreated, the results could be equally harmful.<\/p>\n

\u201cGum disease \u2014 or periodontal disease \u2014 will eventually lead to strokes and an increased risk of heart attacks,\u201d says Dr. Marc Sclafani, another co-founder of One Manhattan Dental.<\/p>\n

He says the stinky syndrome is triggered by\u00a0face coverings since wearing a mask<\/a>\u00a0increases the dryness of the mouth \u2014 and a buildup of bad bacteria.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople tend to breathe through their mouth instead of through their nose while wearing a mask,\u201d says Sclafani. \u201cThe mouth breathing is causing the dry mouth, which leads to a decrease in saliva \u2014 and saliva is what fights the bacteria and cleanses your teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that \u201csaliva is also what neutralizes acid in the mouth and helps prevent tooth decay and gum disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

People\u2019s tendency to drink less water while masked up, as well as consume more coffee and alcohol during lockdown, have also added to the widespread dehydration he\u2019s seeing.<\/p>\n

On the bright side, the dentists say that they\u2019re packing in breath-conscious patients who might otherwise neglect their dental health during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatients are coming into us like, \u2018Wow, my breath smells, I need a cleaning.\u2019 [But] when you smell the bad breath, you either already have periodontal disease or you have a lot of bacteria that\u2019s sitting on your tongue because of dry mouth,\u201d says Sclafani.<\/p>\n

While masks are not negotiable given the times, Sclafani says there are things wearers can do to avoid their grossest side effect: drink more water, cut down on caffeine, snag a humidifier (to \u201chelp moisten the air\u201d), use an alcohol-free mouthwash, scrape your tongue and don\u2019t smoke.<\/p>\n

And if all else fails? \u201cJust breathe through your nose!\u201d<\/p>\n

___
\nhttps:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/health\/mask-mouth-dentists-new-term?fbclid=IwAR1N_XIe-L11U9yx7VasjkWxjVqznJVQUYiFvCt5wF3kcmC082w5bCVGDrU<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘Mask mouth’: Dentists coin new term for smelly side effect of wearing a mask<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}