Since 2020, the world has experienced unprecedented and tragic changes with the spread of COVID-19. We are subliminally increasing the frequency of words in our lives, “pandemic”, “isolation” “social alienation” and “blockade “. When you search for “COVID-19″ in Google, a whopping 6.7 trillion search results appear. Fast-forward two years, COVID-19 has had an incalculable impact on the world economy, while forcing an irreversible shift in our daily lives.
Nowadays, this enormous catastrophe seems to be coming to an end. However, those unfortunate people who infected with virus are left with a legacy of fatigue, coughing, joint and chest pain, loss or confusion of smell and taste that may last a lifetime.
Strange disease: parosmia
A patient who tested positive for COVID-19 was afflicted by a strange disorder a year after he recovered. “Bathing was the most relaxing thing for me after a long day’s work. Whereas once bath soap smelled fresh and clean, now it was like a wet, dirty dog. My favourite foods, too, now overwhelm me; they all carry a rotten smell, the worst being flowers, meat of any kind, fruit and dairy products.”
The impact of parosmia on oral health is enormous, as only the smell of very sweet foods is normal in the patient’s olfactory experience. It is well known that the dental caries are an interaction of tooth surfaces, food and plaque, and over time, parosmia can be very harmful to oral health.
Parosmia patients are encouraged by dentists to use oral products during daily life, such as flossing with fluoride to remove plaque and using a non-mint flavoured mouthwash after meals. Patients have said that mint-flavoured mouthwash “tastes very bitter”. Professional dentists also advise patients to use fluoride containing oral products to help fluoride into the mouth, which is used to maintain a healthy oral microbiota. If patients cannot tolerate any fluoride toothpaste or mouthwash, the most basic scenario is for them to use a toothbrush after meals, although this may not be as effective.
Dentists recommend that patients with severe parosmia should undergo odour training under medical supervision. Social events usually revolve around the dinner table or a restaurant, when eating is no longer a pleasant experience, we cannot relate to parosmia patients and hope that with odour training, they will regain their normal sense of smell.
Post time: Aug-24-2022