Can Improved Periodontal Health Be a Key Factor in Preventing Severe COVID-19 Complications: An Evidence-Based Review

Abstract

COVID-19 is now recognized as a pandemic throughout the world and the severity of the disease has been attributed to many patient-related medical risk factors, which include diabetes, hypertension, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney diseases due to exaggerated immune response associated with these diseases. However, in recent decades, there has been a renewed interest in the association of systemic diseases with periodontal health as the severity of these diseases increases in patients having compromised periodontal health. Therefore, it is suggested that there could be a possible link between the status of periodontal health and the severity of the disease in patients suffering from COVID-19. The purpose of this review article is to explore and highlight the various common mechanisms between periodontal disease and COVID-19 and further explore the role of periodontal disease as a contributing factor for COVID-19 related complications.