Cleaning your Teeth After COVID: Benefits You

By: Dr. Amy Dukoff

Did you know the COVID virus can stay in the plaque on your teeth?

Yes, new research has found that the virus can linger inside your mouth on your teeth’s biofilms. 1This pesky virus stealthily can remain on our teeth in the biofilms and plaque. So, what to do? How do you get rid of it? I suggest, as an essential healthcare practitioner who worked during the NYC lockdown, that the safest way to remove the plaque that may contain the virus is by having a cleaning at your dentist office.

Removing the plaque yourself at home could put you at risk because the plaque can dislodge, you can swallow it, and then the virus enters the body. Posing an added risk that the biofilm with the virus can break off and travel to your lungs and through your bloodstream.2 So, be safe, stay safe and let the professional get rid of the plaque for you. A clean mouth is a happy mouth!

Dr. Amy Dukoff is a researcher, innovator, lecturer, and holds domestic and foreign patents. For medical/dental innovations. She is a graduate of Tufts School of Engineering and Tufts School of Dental Medicine. 01/01/2023 ©

1 Gomes, S.C., Fachin, S., da Fonseca, J.G., Angst, P.D.M., Lamers, M.L., da Silva, I.S.B. and Nunes, L.N. (2021), Dental biofilm of symptomatic COVID-19 patients harbours SARS-CoV-2. J Clin Periodontol, 48: 880-885. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpe.13471
2He D, Fu C, Ning M, Hu X, Li S, Chen Y. Biofilms possibly harbor occult SARS-CoV-2 may explain lung cavity, re-positive and long-term positive results. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2022 Sep 28;12:971933. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.971933. PMID: 36250053; PMCID: PMC9554432.