ABSTRACT

Mouth masks have become a highly essential component in everyone’s life. The current pandemic of Covid-19 has forced everybody to compulsorily wear the masks to prevent the danger of acquiring air borne infections. However, its long-term usage has been proposed to cause some ill effects. The oro-facial region that includes the dentition and surrounding structures are one among the primarily affected. It is proposed that the prolonged wearing of mouth mask causes mouth breathing, dehydration, reduced salivary flow and dry mouth. As a consequence, the protective mechanism of saliva is hampered and there is increased bacterial accumulation, which subsequently can lead to halitosis, inflammation of gingiva, dental caries and various infections. This literature review emphasises on “Mask mouth”, an entity that has been proposed to address the oral features of major concern occurring due to the long term use of mouth mask. Keywords: Mouth mask, Mask mouth, Saliva, Dehydration, Mouth breathing, Oral cavity, Covid 19
Publication date: 25/09/2021

https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2021/September/MS_IJBPAS_2021_SEPT_SPCL_1050.pdf

Download PDF
https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2021/10.9.1050