Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 virus has shaken the globe with an ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 and has set challenges to every corner of the modern health care setting. The oral mucosa and saliva are high risk sites for higher viral loads and dental health care professionals are considered a high risk group. COVID-19-induced oral lesions and loss of taste and smell are common clinical complaints in the dental health care setting. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been found to cause a wide range of non-specific oral mucosal lesions, but the specific diagnosis of these mucocutaneous lesions as COVID-19 lesions will facilitate the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 in dental health care settings and aid in proper patient management. The reported loss of taste and smell needs further investigation at the receptor level as it will give new insights into SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity. The high yield of virus in the salivary secretion is a common finding in this infection and ongoing research is focusing on developing saliva as a rapid diagnostic fluid in COVID-19. In this review, we discuss the significance of oral mucosa, saliva and the relevance of the COVID-19 pandemic in dentistry.
Highlights
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease that was first detected in large numbers in Wuhan, China; it is caused by a newly discovered coronavirus identified as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1]
There is a wide range of extrarespiratory signs and symptoms, including oral mucosal lesions and neurological dysfunctions, such as loss of smell, loss of taste, headache, and associated myofascial pain; these are included in the diagnostic criteria of this disease (Table 1) [10, 19]
This review aimed to provide histological specifications of the oral mucosa and its functional significance in SARS-CoV-2 infection, highlighting the orofacial manifestations and its impacts on the dental health profession
Summary
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease that was first detected in large numbers in Wuhan, China; it is caused by a newly discovered coronavirus identified as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1]. In 2002, SARS-CoV caused a major outbreak known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which caused about 10,000 fatalities worldwide [4]. There is a wide range of extrarespiratory signs and symptoms, including oral mucosal lesions and neurological dysfunctions, such as loss of smell, loss of taste, headache, and associated myofascial pain; these are included in the diagnostic criteria of this disease (Table 1) [10, 19]. The nasal cavity, nasopharynx, oropharynx and oral cavity are identified as potential replication sites for the SARS-CoV-2 virus [20, 21].
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