Dental health and coronavirus: 6 questions about visiting the dentist during a pandemic

Why you shouldn't treat your teeth if you have a cold

Planned dental treatment for colds is not recommended. It is necessary to understand that with any disease the body is greatly weakened and all organs and systems work under increased load.

Filling or removing teeth is an intervention in the body from the outside, which requires the mobilization of all forces. If these medical procedures are carried out during a respiratory illness, the body can react to it completely unpredictably. Interestingly, complications do not occur in all cases, but here the matter concerns health, so it’s still better not to take risks.

It is not worth removing and treating teeth if you have a runny nose or sore throat, as the following complications may develop:

• A secondary infection may occur. With weakened immunity, pathogenic microorganisms from the oral cavity easily spread throughout the body.
• Often, after visiting the dentist, wounds form in the mouth, which are entry points for viruses and bacteria.
• If you need to remove a nerve or pull out a tooth, the doctor uses anesthesia, which has a very bad effect on a weakened body.
• Signs of respiratory failure may develop, since with a severe runny nose it is very difficult to sit in the dentist's chair for a long time with your mouth open.
• If you have a cough, you should also not treat your teeth. A constant urge to cough will interfere with manipulations and there is a high probability of choking on a cotton swab.

We should not forget about the moral side of the issue. You should not treat your teeth if you have a sore throat or colds, as there is a high probability of infecting the dentist.

If your teeth do not hurt or the pain is quite tolerable, it is better to postpone a visit to the dentist until better times.

Should you visit the dentist during self-isolation?

Routine examinations should be temporarily postponed. A visit to the dental office is allowed only in emergency cases when urgent assistance from a specialist is needed.

Dental clinics carry out regular cleaning and disinfection of premises, equipment, instruments and furniture. In addition, all medical staff wear special clothing, medical masks, and use disposable gloves when serving patients.

To improve safety, many clinics have installed antibacterial air purification lamps in rooms and waiting areas.

All this reduces the risk of infection to a minimum, but does not eliminate it. Therefore, you should only visit the dentist during a pandemic in special cases.

When you shouldn't put off visiting the dentist

It is possible to treat teeth for colds that are accompanied by rhinitis, cough and sore throat, but it is better to postpone this venture until complete recovery. However, there are several particularly serious conditions when it is better not to postpone a visit to the dentist:

• The development of a severe inflammatory process in the oral cavity, which is accompanied by severe pain.
• Development of an acute purulent process in the oral cavity.
• Flux formation.
• Swelling associated with a cyst on the root of the tooth.

You should not put off going to the dentist even if your teeth hurt very badly. Most often, this condition is caused by too advanced caries, which leads to pulpitis.

If you experience a high temperature during a visit to the dentist, you must inform the doctor about this!

Prevention of throat diseases

It is especially important to prevent throat diseases during the cold season. In autumn, many are susceptible to colds, immunity decreases, and the human body needs support. Preventive measures are not complicated, but they prevent many pathologies without giving pathogens a chance. Of course, not every throat disease is preventable, as some are specific. But many, thanks to timely measures taken, do not develop and do not disturb during the cold season.

Throat diseases

The most common diseases are laryngitis, sore throat or acute tonsillitis and pharyngitis.

1. Laryngitis. This disease may be infectious or allergic in nature. Laryngitis is characterized by inflammation of the mucous membrane of the larynx and vocal cords. The disease manifests itself as sore throat, hoarseness, and cough. The pathology must be cured in acute cases; chronic cases are difficult to treat. Laryngitis has several forms, one of them accompanies infectious diseases (catarrhal), the second (edematous) occurs due to infections or allergies. The chronic form worsens in cold weather, and speakers, teachers, and singers are more likely to suffer from it.
2. Angina. Acute tonsillitis causes inflammation of the tonsils, most often affecting children aged 3 to 14 years. This occurs under the influence of pathogenic microbes, which are activated under unfavorable conditions - hypothermia of the body. For some, drinking a glass of cold water or eating ice cream is enough. Sore throats have many different forms, they are contagious to others and are more severe than a cold.
3. Pharyngitis. The acute form is characterized by swelling and redness of the soft tissues of the pharynx. The main cause is inhalation of cold, infected or polluted air through the mouth. Acute pharyngitis can also be caused by other irritants: smoking, alcohol, inhaling hot steam. The development of the disease is influenced by streptococci, influenza viruses, and candida.

Throat diseases include lymphadenitis, throat candidiasis, abscesses and some others, to which it is impossible to apply preventive measures. But it is possible to prevent common pathologies; there are many simple ways to do this.

General prevention

Methods of general prevention include means and actions aimed at strengthening the immune system. If the defenses of the body of a child or adult are normal, then the invading pathogenic microbes will not be activated or will die without harm to the person. Resistance to a variety of unfavorable factors will increase: temperature changes, cold air, hypothermia.

Measures to strengthen immunity:

• balanced diet rich in vitamins. It is especially recommended to consume fruits and vegetables containing vitamin C in the autumn-winter period;
• hardening of the body. You need to accustom yourself gradually, taking water procedures with a contrast shower;
• to avoid frequent sore throats in a child, you need to teach him to wash his face and wash his hands with cool water;
• active lifestyle, frequent walks in the fresh air all year round.

By increasing immunity, you can cope not only with throat diseases, but also with other pathologies that arise when the body weakens. There are general rules that must be followed to reduce the risk of getting sick:

• drink enough liquid, preferably herbal teas;
• knowing about allergies, you should avoid dangerous pathogens;
• ensure adequate ventilation in hazardous areas;
• stop smoking;
• use air humidifiers in winter, regularly ventilate the room.

There are no preventive measures against some throat diseases, but by increasing immunity and following general rules, the risk of pathologies occurring is reduced.

Local prevention

These are actions that are aimed directly at improving the condition of the throat. Such methods are needed by those who often suffer from diseases of the larynx, soft tissues of the pharynx, and so on.

1. It is important to brush your teeth in the morning and evening, to treat teeth and other diseases of the oral cavity in a timely manner, since pathogenic microbes spread to the mucous membrane of the throat and nasopharynx.
2. The use of special sprays that contain medicinal substances. They process the mucous membrane, helping the body cope with germs.
3. Gargling is one of the most effective techniques for preventing inflammatory processes. To do this, you can use salt, decoctions of chamomile and other herbs in combination with water at room temperature. Regular salted water can protect against pathogenic microflora.
4. Protect children from communicating with sick people and not visit public places during periods of exacerbation of viral infections. For young children, it is difficult to use preventive measures such as rinsing or spray, which have contraindications.

In case of a sore throat, you can use sprays, gargles or special lozenges, but you should not take antibiotics or other strong drugs without a doctor's prescription. If you treat a throat with an unclear diagnosis yourself, there is a risk that the disease will become chronic. After a thorough examination and checking test results, the doctor will prescribe an effective and safe drug specifically for your case.

Cold on the lips

Almost 90% of the population is infected with the herpes virus. This virus may not manifest itself for a long time, but as soon as immunity decreases, rashes immediately appear on the lips.

Many people do not even suspect that rashes on the lips are an absolute contraindication to any dental treatment. During the treatment and removal of teeth, the oral mucosa is severely injured. This leads to the spread of the virus and the development of herpetic stomatitis.

Should you postpone dental treatment?

Dentists will answer “no” to this question. Here are some reasons why:

1. Prevention of complications. Teeth affected by caries can cause: pulpitis, which is not helped by painkillers, periodonitis, inflammation of the periosteum and even phlegmon. These diseases weaken the immune system, and inflammatory processes can spread to the entire body.
2. Financial. Anyone can afford to heal caries. But if pulpitis has formed, then treatment will cost several times more. If complications lead to tooth loss, it is necessary to perform prosthetics, which is even more expensive.
3. Inability to carry out aesthetic procedures on teeth affected by caries. The same applies to sore gums.
4. Digestive dysfunction. It's simple - carious teeth do not cope well with grinding food, and accordingly the load on digestion increases. The result is the development of gastrointestinal diseases.
5. Over time, caries spreads to neighboring teeth, which complicates treatment and causes discomfort. We wrote about how to treat caries here.
6. Aesthetic. Bad teeth are unsightly. In addition, oral diseases cause bad breath.

But what to do if you have a cold or your temperature has risen for no reason?

Angina

If you have tonsillitis, you should also not visit the dentist. With tonsillitis, severe weakness, fever and swelling of the tissues are observed. If teeth are treated and removed at this time, there is a high probability of infection spreading to healthy tissue.

It is worth understanding that treating teeth if you have a sore throat can result in serious complications. In addition, after tooth extraction there is a huge risk of infection of the hole, which will lead to suppuration and poor healing.

If you have a severe toothache due to tonsillitis, then before visiting the dentist you must sanitize your mouth and throat with antiseptic solutions. The dentist should be notified of a sore throat; you may have to take antibiotics after tooth extraction.

Dental treatment with purulent sore throat is especially difficult. In this case, there is a risk of developing sepsis.

What to do if your tooth hurts badly?

Toothache can appear at the most inopportune moment. This is well understood by the people who make laws in our country and, of course, by us, the dentists at the Aesthetica clinic in Moscow. At the moment, we are working on duty and are ready to accept patients with acute pain, because we know that excruciating, acute pain syndrome is often a sign of dangerous inflammatory processes that pose a threat not only to human health and life.

If you have a severe toothache and the pain does not stop from taking painkillers from pharmaceutical drugs, it intensifies, and swelling of the gums and cheeks has appeared against it - call our dentistry and make an appointment at one of our branches - in Barvikha or Podsosensky Lane.

Receiving patients for acute pain during the coronavirus quarantine period is not prohibited by the decree of the mayor of Moscow, therefore the activities of our dentistry on duty are legal.

How to relieve toothache

If the cold is in full swing and at the same time your tooth hurts badly, you can try to delay going to the dentist for a few days. To relieve toothache, you should follow these recommendations:

• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs will help with pain and fever. This includes Paracetamol and Ibuprofen.
• Lollipops containing menthol oil will help relieve pain. They cool well and relieve pain.
• Frequent rinsing with a solution of baking soda and salt will help eliminate pain. To do this, dissolve half a teaspoon of dry substances in a glass of well-warm water and gargle several times a day.
• You can rinse your mouth with decoctions of chamomile, sage and St. John's wort. Such medications are good at eliminating inflammation and reducing pain.
• Traditional medicine recommends rinsing the mouth with a solution prepared based on alcohol tincture of propolis. This medicine disinfects well and relieves inflammation.
• During a cold, you need to eat fruits, as well as dishes with garlic and onions . These products contain many vitamins and minerals that help strengthen the immune system.

Sometimes toothache subsides as soon as the cold is cured. But this is not at all a reason to postpone visiting the dentist after an illness. Only a doctor can say what could provoke acute toothache during a cold.

During a respiratory illness, do not forget to brush your teeth. After each meal, you should rinse your mouth with clean water or a decoction of medicinal herbs.

It is not worthwhile to routinely treat diseased teeth during a cold, as a number of complications may arise. But if the pain is very severe and is accompanied by gumboil, then you need to go to the hospital immediately. The dentist will definitely select the optimal treatment method, which will minimize the risk of complications.

How does caries affect human health?

Despite the fact that the initial stage of caries, as a rule, is not accompanied by acute painful sensations, it is important to identify the problem in time and begin to solve it. Caries is an infectious disease, and any infection is a blow to human health as a whole, and not just to local immunity. Doctors note that colds and viral diseases occurring against the background of caries are much more often accompanied by complications, such as otitis media, sinusitis or pneumonia. That is, with caries, the likelihood of an unfavorable course of the disease, including coronavirus, increases significantly.