HAP Journal of Public Health and Clinical Medicine

Prevalence of Oral Health Issues and Its Associated Risk Factors Among Post-COVID Patients in Kannur, Kerala: A Cross-Sectional Study

Athira Radhakrishnan¹, Avani Dinesh¹, Aswathy Sreedevi¹ and Minu Maria Mathew¹

First Published 22 Dec 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/jpm.221118618

Article Information

Volume 1, Issue 1 January 2023

Corresponding Author:

Avani Dinesh, Department of Community Medicine and Public Health, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre, Kochi, Kerala 682041, India.
Email: avanidin59@gmail.com

¹Department of Community Medicine and Public Health, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre, Kochi, Kerala, India

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-Commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed.

Abstract

Background: The novel coronavirus has affected over 6.9 million people in over 200 nations in the world. As of May 2022, according to World Health Organization, India reported 43,107,689 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). An Egyptian study reported 67.2% with oral manifestations where dry mouth was 39.7%, gustatory dysfunction as 34.5% loss of salt sensation, 29.3% loss of sweet sensation, and 25.9% altered food taste. The objective of this study was to estimate prevalence of oral health issues and associated factors among persons who had been diagnosed COVID positive in Kerala.

Methods: In the cross-sectional study conducted among 63 post-COVID patients in Kannur district in Kerala, data was collected through online survey with semi-structured questionnaires.

Results: Mean age of study participants was 43.96 ± 16.78 years. About three-fourth, 74.6% (95% confidence interval: 63.9, 85.3), of study participants suffered oral health issues. Most common oral health issues reported were dry mouth 37 (58.7%), altered taste sensation in 35 (55.6%), and teeth sensitivity among 32 (50.8%). Ayurvedic medications for COVID-19 (P value: .014), oral hygiene habits (P value: .001), irregular dental consultation (P value: .04), and treatment (P value: .033) were factors significantly associated with oral health issues.

Conclusion: Our study reveals that post-COVID patients are a group which require better oral care and hence early diagnosis is encouraged to recognize and treat oral manifestations in them.

Keywords

COVID-19, dry mouth, altered taste, teeth sensitivity

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