Periodontal pocket and COVID-19: Could there be a possible link?

COVID-19 is the emerging health emergency ruining the well being of individuals and devastating the global economies. Sustained research focusing on the virus has been on throughout the world. However, no definitive remedies have yet been derived in the containment of the virus. Steady knowledge on the pathogenesis of the virus has revealed certain consistent features specific to the disease which includes massive destruction of the lung due to the presence of excessive angiotensin-converting enzyme receptors (ACE2) which are essential for the viral entry inside the host. Once, access is gained multiplication occurs resulting in suppressing the immune response of the body against the virus. Henceforth, the equilibrium of the host is disrupted leading to manifestation of the disease. The Periodontal pocket also presents with pathology very much similar to COVID-19 and a possibility of dual role can be thought of pertaining to aspects of Periodontal Medicine.

Periodontal pockets: A potential reservoir for SARS-CoV-2?

Periodontal pockets are the major clinical manifestation of Periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory oral disease affecting the teeth-supporting tissues and has high prevalence in the adult population. Periodontal pockets are ideal environments for subgingival bacterial biofilms, that interact with the supragingival oral cavity, mucosal tissues of the pocket and a peripheral circulatory system. Periodontal pockets have been found to harbor viral species such as the Herpes simplex viruses' family. Recently, the SARS-CoV-2 has gained major interest of the scientific/medical community as it caused a global pandemic (Covid-19) and paralyzed the globe with high figures of infected people worldwide. This virus behavior is still partially understood, and by analyzing some of its features we hypothesized that periodontal pocket could be a favorable anatomical niche for the virus and thus acting as a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2.