Oral Care Tips for Back to Work in a post-Pandemic COVID Era

By: Dr. Amy Dukoff DMD BSE

What are these oral care tips to aid returning to in-person work in a post-pandemic COVID era? Both dental and medical experts agree oral health can affect the COVID infection and our responses. As per a recent Gallup poll, the sense of fear of contracting COVID still exists for employees when they are at work.1 Even though employers and employees follow the recommended guidelines, how we feel is not restrictive. Therefore, knowing oral care tips benefits the work environment. Both employees and employers gain from understanding and knowledge of the relationship between oral care and COVID infections.

How do you feel when a co-worker calls in sick due to COVID and then when the co-worker returns to work? How do you feel when you find out that a co-worker’s partner has COVID? How do you feel when someone at a meeting you attended is now out sick with COVID? Do you feel vulnerable? How do you feel going to work when your significant other has COVID? There are the questions we have to answer for ourselves and to our co-workers and to our employer. Even with the vaccine, we appear vulnerable to contracting the infection. What to do to minimize our risks is a typical question we commonly ask ourselves. As a healthcare professional who worked during the NYC lockdown without contracting COVID, treating oral care emergencies, I remained COVID negative. Based on first-hand experience and scientific research, I recommend the following oral care tips.

When a patient calls complaining that they are COVID +, they may ask, “Doc, what should I do I just got COVID? And I don’t want to get my family sick, any suggestions?” Instead of just saying, feel better and call me when you have a negative COVID test to reschedule, I add my recommendations such as:
1. Brush your tongue;
2. Keep your mouth and lips moist;
3. Drink lots of water to keep your oral tissues wet;
4. Have a designated toothbrush during the COVID infection;
5. Sterilize your toothbrush after each use;
6. Avoid toothpaste and mouthwash with sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), peroxide agents,
alcohol;
7. Strive for good oral hygiene and brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.

Brushing your tongue frequently has been found to decrease the viral load and decrease the transmission to other members in the household.2Toothbrushing and good oral hygiene have been associated with the PCR outcomes and improved the test results.3 Dry mouth is a common finding before COVID infections.4 Therefore, I believe keeping the oral tissues moist with a water barrier is important to prevent the virus from having an easy entry into the portals of oral tissues. Additionally, I recommend cleaning your toothbrush after each use with mouthwash or another antiseptic, because why would you want to put the virus back into your mouth the next time you brush? Yes, it is important to brush with fluoride toothpaste twice a day. 5In addition, brushing after meals and more frequently would require the use of a toothpaste without ingredients that can aggravate oral lesions that are frequently present during COVID infection. For example, alcohol can dry the tissues as peroxide can cause irritations, ingredients that should be avoided during a COVID infection. 6 Good oral care during a COVID infection, I believe, is a win-win for both the employee and the employer.

Now, back at work after COVID infection, how do you think your co-workers feel about being around you? From personal experience, I myself have been concerned about being at risk at work. My recommendations are to boost natural defenses. During the day, I recommend continually sipping water to keep the oral tissues wetted, brushing the tongue and teeth and avoiding using mouthwash with alcohol. By keeping the oral tissues wet, the saliva acts as a natural barrier. I believe it acts in preventing the virus from attaching to the AEC receptors.

Attention towards oral care appears to be the missing link in the COVID puzzle. Knowledge of oral care, I believe, empowers both the employees and employer in a post-pandemic COVID era. Understanding allays fears for in-person work and co-workers working together.

February 28, 2023 @
About the Author:

Dr. Amy Dukoff is an Endodontist in private practice in midtown Manhattan for over 30 years and supports medical/dental innovation through her family’s foundation, Dukoff-Toro Foundation. She is a graduate of Tufts School of Engineering and Tufts School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Dukoff is a researcher, innovator, lecturer, and holds domestic and foreign patents.

1 Saad, Lydia, One in Four Workers Still Fear Catching COVID-19 at Work; 11,22,2022; https:// news.gallup.com/poll/405377/one-four-workers-fear-catching-covid-work.aspx
2 González-Olmo, M.J., Delgado-Ramos, B., Ruiz-Guillén, A. et al. Oral hygiene habits and possible transmission of COVID-19 among cohabitants. BMC Oral Health 20, 286 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-020-01274-5
3 Warabi Y, Tobisawa S, Kawazoe T, Murayama A, Norioka R, Morishima R, Inoue T, Shimizu T, Takahashi K. Effects of oral care on prolonged viral shedding in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Spec Care Dentist. 2020 Sep;40(5):470-474. doi: 10.1111/scd.12498. Epub 2020 Jul 24. PMID: 32706510; PMCID: PMC7405138.
4 Fathi, Yaser et al. “Xerostomia (dry mouth) in patients with COVID-19: a case series.” Future Virology (2021): 10.2217/fvl-2020-0334. doi:10.2217/fvl-2020-0334
5 Bains VK, Bains R, Is oral hygiene as important as hand hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic? Asian J Oral Health Allied Sci 2020;10:5.
6 Rees, T., Orth, T., Oral Ulcerations with Use of Hydrogen Peroxide; Journal of Perio; Nov. 1986; https://doi.org/10.1902/jop.1986.57.11.689