Stress and Quarantining Leading to Tooth-Wear and Cavities

 

Stress and quarantining brought on by the pandemic are definitely rough for our mental well-being. Now dentists (including me) are seeing more evidence that our oral health is suffering too. We are seeing more patients who are experiencing cavities, tooth decay, sore jaws and cracked teeth.

People have been skipping their dental appointments and staying home because of the pandemic, which means they are falling behind on their regular checkups. People have also been doing a lot more stress-eating throughout the day, so I’m seeing more patients come in with cavities. We are also seeing a lot of teeth grinding happening from stress too. Add to that an increased consumption of sweets and carbs and then not going to your regularly scheduled dentist appointment for your cleaning can wreak havoc on your teeth and gums.

I was just having a conversation about this with a specialist who was consulting on one of my patients. He theorized that brushing and flossing are down as good habits slip and social outings decline. People with tooth pain delayed going to the dentist, hoping it would go away, which is a bad idea even if there weren’t a pandemic happening. According to a study released by Guardian Life, 1 in 5 adults have visited a dentist office amid the pandemic, even though 2 in 5 adults said they’ve had dental issues since March. The same study said 25% of U.S. adults won’t be comfortable going to the dentist by the end of this year.

Some people are afraid to go to the dentist’s office because of COVID-19. However, you should know that dentists are the most prepared medical field to deal with airborne diseases because we’ve been fighting airborne diseases our entire careers. We are now screening everyone who comes into our office. We don’t allow people to congregate in the waiting room. We are spacing out our appointment times to make sure our patients and staff are safe. We employ suction in all procedures, and we have high HEPA filtration, with high volumetric flow rate to filter out virus sized particles—and then the filtered air passes through an electric field as an added measure. We make sure the exam rooms are cleaned thoroughly in between each patient.

Dentists’ offices following good practices are safe, so there is no need to skip your dental appointments and fall behind on your oral health. During the entire pandemic, there have been no cases of COVID-19 linked to our office (and we don’t know of any dentist offices that have been transmission hubs).

If you haven’t been to the dentist in a while, and you’d like to learn more about the services offered at my offices, visit www.DoctorBasil.com.  To schedule an appointment contact us online, or call us at 860-561-2121. My offices are located in West Hartford Center: 10 North Main Street, Suite 220;  or in New Britain: 411 Osgood Avenue.

Keep smiling,

Dr.Elzbieta W. Basil, DMD is a private practice dentist with offices in West Hartford Center and  New Britain, Connecticut.  She is a Clinical Instructor at the UConn School of Dental Medicine, and has won several awards naming her regional “Best Dentist” and “Top Dentist.” She is an active member of the Connecticut State Dental Association and the American Dental Association. Tel: 860-561-2121