Deep Dive: Deep Dive Into Periodontal Disease and the COVID-19 Connection

Dental researchers continue to look at the ways oral health impacts overall health with numerous links between periodontal disease and conditions affecting the heart and numerous other organs and systems. Dr Shervin Molayem was among the first to identify and champion a connection between periodontal disease and severity of COVID-19 infections. His work was noticed by Dr Graham Lloyd-Jones, a radiologist who had been looking at the way COVID-19 impacted the lungs. Together, they and a team of international experts across a range of medical specialties looked at available date to propose a theory of how the coronavirus makes its way from the mouth, through the gums, and the heart before impacting the lungs vascularly. Their paper “The COVID-19 Pathway” proposes that SARS-CoV-2 infections follow an oral-vascular-pulmonary route and improved oral and gingival hygiene could play a role in slowing the spread of COVID-19. Drs Lloyd-Jones and Molayem join Dental Products Report editorial director Noah Levine to discuss their theory, the evidence on which it is based, and the how cross specialty collaboration can save lives.