Sandy Springs Dentists: Bacteria and Covid-19

Our team believes there may be a connection between SARS- CoV-2 infection and “bacterial load,” but there isn’t enough data as of yet.  A recent study tried to explore if high levels of bacteria or bacterial superinfections and complications of bacterial infections such as pneumonia, sepsis, and respiratory distress syndrome could be associated with poor outcome from COVID-19. This study explored the complications of COVID-19 seen among those with poor oral health and periodontal disease.

The study concludes that 20 percent of the patients with COVID-19 progress to severe illness with high levels of “inflammatory markers (IL-2, IL-6, IL-10), bacteria, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte count”. As we believe, they noted that the oral microbial environment and COVID-19 could be linked.

And the four essential risk factors for severe COVID-19, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity, are also risk factors associated with poor oral hygiene. The study recommends “oral hygiene be maintained, if not improved, during a SARS-CoV-2 infection in order to reduce the bacterial load in the mouth and the potential risk of bacterial superinfection.” These precautions are particularly important for those with diabetes, heart disease hypertension.[1]

You need to keep up your at home procedures of brushing and flossing and you need to keep your appointments for your semi-annual teeth cleanings and examinations. Contact us because it’s important to your global health and laser fight against Covid-19.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

ZoAnna Bock, MS, DMD

Hanna Orland, DMD

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Sandy Springs, GA 30328

404-256-3620

And

3781 Chamblee Dunwoody Road

Chamblee, GA 30341

770-455-6076

info@rightsmilecenter.com

www.rightsmilecenter.com

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[1] Sampson, V., Kamona, N. & Sampson, A. Could there be a link between oral hygiene and the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections?. Br Dent J 228, 971–975 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-020-1747-8, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41415-020-1747-8

Sandy Springs Dentist: Avoid Covid-19

How can I avoid potential Covid-19 lung problems from dental or gum disease?

At this point there hasn’t been enough data on the relationship between Covid-19 and good oral health.  But it is well known that teeth and gum germs can travel down to the lungs and harm them.  And as a precaution until the data shows up this should be considered the path Covid-19 may take.

Having healthy your teeth and gums can play a role in how well the Coronavirus is controlled. Cavities and gum disease are due in part to bacterial infection. And it is highly possible this infection can spread the bacteria to the lungs.

Cavities and gum diseases can be prevented by removing the plaque with thorough daily oral hygiene. You have to be vigilant daily, because bacterial plaque starts to build up again within a few hours after being removed.

■ A soft-bristle toothbrush can remove plaque.

■ Dental floss scrapes off plaque.

■ You need to brush thoroughly and gently along the gum line of teeth to get rid of plaque.

■ Tartar formation is a sign of poor oral hygiene.

■ Fluoridated toothpaste is recommended.

■ Some brands of toothpaste contain antibacterial ingredients.

■ You may also use an antimicrobial mouth rinse, such as chlorhexidine.

Being vigilant means thorough and frequent oral hygiene can go a long way to help prevent getting cavities and gum diseases. However, you should also have regular dental check-ups to detect and treat any problems that may develop early.  If you do not have a regular source of dental care, make a contact through one of the sources below. 

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

ZoAnna Bock, MS, DMD

Hanna Orland, DMD

Howard Abrahams, DDS

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Sandy Springs, GA 30328

404-256-3620

and

3781 Chamblee Dunwoody Road

Chamblee, GA 30341

770-455-6076

info@rightsmilecenter.com

www.rightsmilecenter.com

Dental Health and Covid-19 in Sandy Springs

How healthy your teeth and gums are can play a role at times in how well the Coronavirus is controlled. Cavities and gum disease are due in part to bacterial infection. This infection can spread the bacteria to the lungs.

At this point there hasn’t been enough time to study the relationship between Covid-19 and good oral health.  But it is well known that teeth and gums are reservoirs for germs that can travel down to the lungs and harm them. And this should be deduced as the path that Covid-19 will take.

Bacteria live in dental plaque, a film that forms on your teeth. The bacteria will continue to grow and multiply. You can stop this by removing plaque with thorough daily tooth brushing and flossing. But this is only the first step.  Seeing your dentist for your oral hygiene is the next important step in preventing the spread of bacteria from your mouth to your lungs.

Some bacteria can be inhaled into the lungs on tiny droplets of saliva, which is the main way Covid-19 is transmitted.  Healthy lungs have protective defenses to deal with those bacteria invasions. If your lungs are disease compromised the lungs are not as able to defend themselves, increasing the risk that the bacteria will cause infections or make lung problems worse.

If you do not have a regular source of dental care, make a contact through one of the sources below. 

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

ZoAnna Bock, MS, DMD

Hanna Orland, DMD

Howard Abrahams, DDS

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Sandy Springs, GA 30328

404-256-3620

and

3781 Chamblee Dunwoody Road

Chamblee, GA 30341

770-455-6076

info@rightsmilecenter.com

www.rightsmilecenter.com

Support Safety at Our Sandy Springs Dental Office

How can you support safety at our dental offices?

• First, understand our dentists and staff may need extra measures and more time to keep the office safe, including requiring patients and family members to wait in cars and not sit in the waiting room.
• Accompanying visitors should be discouraged unless necessary to get you home safely, escort and calm a young child, or to accommodate a disability.
• More PPE and cleaning have been necessitated, which can result in the need for more time between patients.
• Please, for our safety, inform our dental team if you have been sick, been tested for COVID-19, or had recently been quarantined.
• If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, let us know and contact your physician who may suggest you be tested.
• Wear a mask, and follow please follow our procedures.  They are in place for your safety and the safety of our team.

If you do not have a regular source of dental care, make a contact through one of the sources below. 

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

ZoAnna Bock, MS, DMD

Hanna Orland, DMD

Howard Abrahams, DDS

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Sandy Springs, GA 30328

404-256-3620

And

3781 Chamblee Dunwoody Road

Chamblee, GA 30341

770-455-6076

info@rightsmilecenter.com

www.rightsmilecenter.com

Covid-19 and Sandy Springs Dentistry

Your dental check-up is a good access point to secondary care investigations and treatment for disease. During your appointments, chairside rapport develops and enables us to make an assessment of your general health and wellbeing, presentation of systemic conditions within the oral cavity and surrounding craniofacial tissues, comorbidities and assessment of your medication.

The frequency and periodicity of patient contact has demonstrated that dental care providers are a significant ‘touch point’ for your global health promotion. This puts our dental team in an ideal situation to provide health interventions for conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C is another proposed intervention. These examples exclude the learning objectives related to general dentistry and demonstrate our wide range of medical knowledge taught in dental school and gained in the practical world of oral healthcare delivery.

A large skilled oral healthcare workforce that is agile and responsive is going to be required for the future. Our team of dental providers is an effective contributor in the current pandemic. We have demonstrated excellent shared understandings of clinical care and effective teamwork. We are also exceptional at working in PPE and are mindful of cross infection and disinfection procedures to ensure a safe environment for patients and colleagues long before the current pandemic.

For our community, it is highly advantageous to maintain an effective skilled workforce of dental professionals with additional skills needed during emergencies or times of crises. As mentioned earlier, many prerequisite skills have long been present in dental profession.

Our dental team are valuable members of a wider medical core of professionals during emergencies or national crises, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. We have a wide range of transferable clinical and non-clinical skills, which are of significant benefit to a system under pressure. Our background in clinical sciences and knowledge of basic human systems makes the Right Smile team ideal candidates for further intensive training courses, allowing us to provide an additional level of care in national emergencies.

We are essential healthcare providers and look forward to serving you.  Feel free to contact one of our two metro-Atlanta area offices.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

ZoAnna Bock, MS, DMD

Hanna Orland, DMD

Howard Abrahams, DDS

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Sandy Springs, GA 30328

404-256-3620

And

3781 Chamblee Dunwoody Road

Chamblee, GA 30341

770-455-6076

info@rightsmilecenter.com

www.rightsmilecenter.com

Covid-19 and the Dentist Near Me

All of us are going through a lot of changes right now.  COVID-19 has disrupted our lives in many ways. And while there are a lot of things we can’t do, we can still take care of our health.

With a lot of you working from home and adjusting to new routines, it’s easy to put aside your dental health. Don’t. 

We continue to adjust to the rapidly changing situation with COVID-19.  In the short term, we’re focused on providing emergency dental care and giving people resources that help protect your oral health. As the situation continues to evolve, we’ll adjust to federal and state guidelines to ensure the safety of our patients, staff and community.

Our dental settings balance the need to provide necessary services while minimizing risk to patients and our staff.  Our team remains informed and regularly consult with the state or local health department for region-specific information and recommendations, and we continue to monitor trends in local case counts and deaths, especially for populations at higher risk for severe illness. 

Our Key Points of Focus:

• Recognize dental settings have unique characteristics that warrant specific infection control considerations.
• Prioritize the most critical dental services and provide care in a way that minimizes harm to patients from delaying care and harm to personnel and patients from potential exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
• Proactively communicate to both personnel and patients the need for them to stay at home if sick.
• Know the steps to take if a patient with COVID-19 symptoms enters our facility.

We are using additional infection prevention and control practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with standard practices recommended as a part of routine dental healthcare delivery to all patients. These practices are intended to apply to all patients, not just those with suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.

And if you’re in doubt about your situation, do not hesitate to reach out to our offices for help.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

ZoAnna Bock, MS, DMD

Hanna Orland, DMD

Howard Abrahams, DDS

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Sandy Springs, GA 30328

404-256-3620

And

3781 Chamblee Dunwoody Road

Chamblee, GA 30341

770-455-6076

info@rightsmilecenter.com

www.rightsmilecenter.com