We wrote this post in June 2021, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have preserved it with its original date. It reflects the research as it stood at that moment.
Most people know that daily brushing and flossing are essential for good oral health. What was less widely known in 2021 was that healthy gums seemed to matter well beyond the mouth. Research published that year connected gum disease to a higher risk of severe COVID complications, which gave twice-yearly professional teeth cleaning a new kind of importance during the pandemic.
Gum disease, briefly
Gum disease is an oral infection that gets progressively worse without treatment. It begins as gingivitis, with red, swollen, or bleeding gums and persistent bad breath. At that early stage, a professional cleaning can reverse it completely. Left untreated, the infection keeps advancing, and over time it puts the teeth themselves at risk. Our periodontal therapy page explains how gum disease is treated at every stage.
What researchers found in 2021
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology found that people with gum disease who contracted COVID-19 were at least three times more likely to develop severe complications. COVID patients with gum disease showed elevated white blood cell counts, C-reactive protein, and D-dimer, biomarkers tied to the most serious outcomes, including a significantly higher risk of ICU admission, assisted ventilation, and death.
The connection appears to run through inflammation. Gum disease causes localized inflammation in the mouth, and it can also be a sign of inflammation throughout the body, since bacteria from an oral infection can travel through the bloodstream. Severe COVID complications were likewise linked to systemic inflammation. Caring for your gums, in other words, was one more way of caring for the rest of you.
If you were putting off dental care
In 2021, many patients were delaying dental visits, some out of concern about discomfort and some because of social distancing. Both hesitations made sense to us, and neither one was ever met with a lecture. Your safety, health, and comfort come before everything else here. That is the whole idea behind Fear-Less Dentistry, and it is how Dr. Alex Balaban and our team approached every appointment through the pandemic: gentle, pain-free care in a safe environment.
A professional cleaning twice a year, paired with a thorough exam, remains the simplest way to keep gum disease from gaining a foothold. Call (317) 575-1995 or request an appointment online. If you are new to Smile Arts Dental, our new patient page explains what your first visit looks like.
This article is for general education only and is not a substitute for professional dental advice. For guidance about your own smile, talk with your dentist.