Coronavirus symptoms: Teeth falling out potential weird new side effect

Just when we thought we’d finally started to understand COVID-19, another bizarre potential side effect of the virus has emerged.

Just when we thought we’d finally started to understand – and be able to recognise the myriad symptoms associated with – COVID-19, another bizarre potential side effect of the virus has emerged.

Earlier this month, a 43-year-old New York woman, Fareh Khemili, was putting a breath mint in her mouth when she noticed one of her bottom teeth was loose.

The tooth fell out of her mouth and into her hand 24 hours later, an “extremely rare feat”, University of Utah periodontist Dr David Okano told The New York Times, for teeth to “literally fall out of their sockets”.

Ms Khemili was infected with coronavirus months ago, but has endured a slew of symptoms since, including brain fog, nerve pain and muscle aches.

And while there’s no evidence that the disease can lead to tooth loss or other dental problems, members in Ms Khemili’s support group have also described not just their teeth falling out, but sensitive gums and teeth turning grey or chipping.

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Coronavirus could lead to the exacerbation of ongoing dental problems.

While Dr Okano told The Times he was sceptical coronavirus alone could lead to tooth loss, people with existing dental problems could be worsened, especially as patients recover from COVID-19, he said.

President and medical director of the non-profit Angiogenesis Foundation, Dr William W. Li, told the publication that doctors and dentists need to be open to such possibilities.

According to a 2012 report from America’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 47 per cent of adults over the age of 30 have some form of periodontal disease – whether that be infection or inflammation of the gums and bone that surround teeth.

“We are now beginning to examine some of the bewildering and sometimes disabling symptoms that patients are suffering months after they’ve recovered from COVID,” Dr Li said, including the accounts of dental issues and teeth loss.

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Other people who posted on the Survivor Corp Facebook page – used by people who have lived through coronavirus – also recounted their teeth falling out without bleeding when they were eating an ice cream or flossing.

For a tooth to fall out without any blood is unusual, Dr Li said, providing a clue that there might be something going on with the blood vessels in the gums.

“If a COVID long hauler’s reaction is in the mouth, it’s a defence mechanism against the virus,” California prosthodontist, Dr Michael Scherer, told The Times.

Inflammatory health conditions – like cardiovascular disease and diabetes (both of which can result in a worse coronavirus outcome if a patient with the conditions tests positive) also correlate with gum disease.

“Gum disease is very sensitive to hyper-inflammatory reactions, and COVID long haulers certainly fall into that category.”

It’s not the first time potential new side effects of the virus have been identified.

A study from Spanish researchers in late July suggested another sign of the potentially-deadly disease was rash-like lesions inside the mouths of infected patients.

That discovery followed a separate group of Spanish scientists in April linking lesions on feet to coronavirus, while clumsiness, disturbance in brain function and loss of taste and smell are other notable symptoms linked to COVID-19 as the pandemic has evolved.