WEBVTT - Dentists Warn of Masks Causing 'Mask Mouth'

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<v Speaker 1>It's Friday August. I'm Oscar Emrrors from the Daily Dive

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<v Speaker 1>podcast in Los Angeles, and this is reopening America. As

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<v Speaker 1>dentists have started to open up, they are seeing patients

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<v Speaker 1>come in with a new set of symptoms and they

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<v Speaker 1>are dubbing it mask mouth. Dentists are seeing inflammation and gums,

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<v Speaker 1>decaying teeth and really bad breath. Wearing a mask can

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<v Speaker 1>lead to dry mouth and a host of other problems

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<v Speaker 1>unless proper precautions are taken. Milkorka Lisaya, features writer at

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<v Speaker 1>The New York Post, joins us for what to do

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<v Speaker 1>about mask mouth. Thanks for joining us, milk Corka, thank

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<v Speaker 1>you so much for having me. So. Dentists have been

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<v Speaker 1>reopening their doors and they're saying that some of their

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<v Speaker 1>patients are coming in with a new set of symptoms

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<v Speaker 1>that they've called mask mouth. Obviously this has to do

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<v Speaker 1>with wearing the face coverings because of the coronavirus pandemic,

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<v Speaker 1>and they're saying that people are coming in and having

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<v Speaker 1>some problems. I love the quote from one dentist that

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<v Speaker 1>she spoke to. Quote, patients are coming into us like, wow,

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<v Speaker 1>my breath smells. I need a cleaning so I saw that.

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<v Speaker 1>I thought it was hilarious, but you know, some of

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<v Speaker 1>the reasonings behind it seemed to be generally true. So

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<v Speaker 1>tell us what you're hearing from dentists about mask mouth.

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<v Speaker 1>So one of the big things about wearing a mask

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<v Speaker 1>is that we tend to want to breathe with our

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<v Speaker 1>mouths open, which is something that you know, typically without

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<v Speaker 1>a mask on, you wouldn't be doing. So when you

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<v Speaker 1>start to breathe with your mouth open, it actually makes

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<v Speaker 1>your mouth get dry and your saliva doesn't cover your

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<v Speaker 1>teeth the way it should, which is leading to some

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<v Speaker 1>of these issues. And what kind of things are they

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<v Speaker 1>seeing in actual people's mouth. There's issues with gums and cavities.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a bunch of things they're looking at. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's leading to just more general bacteria in the mouth,

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<v Speaker 1>So that could lead to gum disease, it can lead

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<v Speaker 1>to cavities, and if it's not taking care of, it

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<v Speaker 1>could lead to more serious things like, you know, a

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<v Speaker 1>heart attack, which hopefully messing like that would happen. But

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<v Speaker 1>yet it's sort of exacerbating these issues. Why did they

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<v Speaker 1>come up with that name of mask mouth? So they

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<v Speaker 1>told me, you know, it's catchy. Of course it has

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<v Speaker 1>the alliteration, but also it's sort of a play on

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<v Speaker 1>mess mouth, which most of us are familiar with, but

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<v Speaker 1>for those of us who are not, it's uh when

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<v Speaker 1>people get you know, black and cracked teeth from doing mess. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>this is an interesting story to me only because obviously

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<v Speaker 1>throughout the pandemic a lot of things shut down and

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<v Speaker 1>people weren't doing a lot of their routine checkups, whether

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<v Speaker 1>it be at the doctor's office or at dentist office,

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<v Speaker 1>and there has been this conversation about is it safe

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<v Speaker 1>to go back to these things. Actually, the w h O,

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<v Speaker 1>the World Health Organization, just offered some new guidance saying

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<v Speaker 1>that you should be careful about going to your dentist

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<v Speaker 1>office and delay some of these routine dental checkups because

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<v Speaker 1>of what goes on there. Obviously, the dentist is right

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<v Speaker 1>in your mouth. They use sprays and different things that

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<v Speaker 1>could kick up virus particles. So when I saw this

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<v Speaker 1>in my head, I was like, well, dentists want to

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<v Speaker 1>get back to work. They want people to not put

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<v Speaker 1>stuff off. So they're talking about some of these problems

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<v Speaker 1>that people are experiencing now. But at the same time,

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<v Speaker 1>the who has conflicting guidance, so it's kind of like,

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<v Speaker 1>who do you believe in this kind of situation? Totally Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I think it really does just come down

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<v Speaker 1>to taking really good care of your teeth right now,

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<v Speaker 1>whether or not it is going into the dentist, but

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<v Speaker 1>just like take oral hygiene, maybe more seriously than ever.

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<v Speaker 1>Sounds like a safe in between. And I think the

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<v Speaker 1>w h O even offered guidance saying, well, you should

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<v Speaker 1>do like some type of telemedicine thing, you know, get

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<v Speaker 1>on a skype call or zoom call with your patients

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<v Speaker 1>and instruct them on how to properly take care of yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>So in the dentist that you spoke to about this,

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<v Speaker 1>what did they say? What can we do to try

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<v Speaker 1>to cut down on this mask mouth? Yeah, so they

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<v Speaker 1>basically were like, simple, try to breathe with your mouth cloth,

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<v Speaker 1>with your mouth closed, and with your nose um and

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<v Speaker 1>and things like um, using a tongue scraper. They said,

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<v Speaker 1>it is really great, um, just to get all that

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<v Speaker 1>bacteria off. Maybe to brush your teeth more are often

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<v Speaker 1>during the day, three times a day, and to definitely

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<v Speaker 1>slop and use mouthwash very regularly. Are all good things

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<v Speaker 1>to do, and they also recommended, uh, you know, to

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<v Speaker 1>maybe cut down on things that dehydrated, so coffee and alcohol.

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<v Speaker 1>If you can cut that down, it helps keep the

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<v Speaker 1>saliva in the mouth. Yeah, drinking a lot of water,

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<v Speaker 1>which you know obviously once you have the mask on,

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<v Speaker 1>it's tough to do all these things. So it's just

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<v Speaker 1>kind of be conscious of these slight adjustments that we

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<v Speaker 1>should be making so you don't get the really smelly

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<v Speaker 1>breath out of this. And I mean, I guess it's

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<v Speaker 1>coming across if dentists are talking about it that way. Yeah, totally,

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<v Speaker 1>And I mean it does make sense if you're wearing

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<v Speaker 1>a mask, we all are like suddenly like, wait, does

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<v Speaker 1>my breath smell like that? Look more aware of it.

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<v Speaker 1>Suddenly now you're only smelling your own breath exactly. It's like,

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<v Speaker 1>oh god, Okay. Malkorka Lisaya, features writer at The New

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<v Speaker 1>York Post, thank you very much for joining us. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>thank you so much again. I'm Oscar rom Us and

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<v Speaker 1>this has been reopening America. Don't forget effort. Today's big

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