Dr. Kami Hoss Interviewed About the Connection between Face Masks and Cavities

Dr. Kami Hoss of The Super Dentists was recently interviewed by Romper on whether face masks can actually cause cavities. Dr. Hoss was hand-picked to appear in the article for Romper, a leading website for millennial moms, due to his extensive expertise in the area of oral health and in how the global COVID-19 pandemic has affected it.

In the article, which can be found at https://www.romper.com/p/do-face-masks-cause-cavities-heres-what-dentists-say-29608178, Dr. Hoss provides a rundown on why recently made claims that wearing masks leads to tooth decay are not true.

The Connection Between Face Masks and Cavities

In the recent article, Romper shares the claim by board-certified Dr. Piya Gandhi that using face masks daily has been linked to a rise in cavities in her patients. According to Dr. Gandhi, this has occurred because the wearing of face masks leads to what is known as mouth breathing. Mouth breathing, in turn, results in dry mouth, which leads to tooth decay.

However, according to Dr. Hoss, patients should not believe that mask wearing results in cavities. Rather, the closure of dental offices during the pandemic is more likely to have an adverse impact on their oral health.

According to Dr. Hoss, face masks do not necessarily cause people to become mouth breathers. The reason for this is because people can still easily breathe through their noses when wearing masks. In addition, even if people did breathe a little more through their masks, this would not be significant enough to result in dry mouth. Instead, people develop dry mouth if they chronically breathe through their mouths as a result of nasal airway blockages.

Children during the pandemic may have particularly experienced an increase in cavities due to being more relaxed when it came to personal hygiene and snacking. For instance, not being on schedules likely caused children eat more unhealthy, sugar snacks while simultaneously not brushing and flossing regularly.

Moving forward, it is critical that parents encourage their children to adopt healthy oral care habits, according to Dr. Hoss. Dr. Hoss also mentioned during the Romper interview that children need to continue to wear face masks when they cannot engage in social distancing, as this will help to limit the spread of the cornoavirus.

Interview Expanded

Dr. Kami Hoss went on to expand this interview with The List, which can be found at https://www.thelist.com/230779/are-masks-causing-covid-cavities-this-dentist-says-thats-bogus/. This expanded interview goes into how “Dentists, physicians, nurses, assistants and all sorts of healthcare providers have been wearing masks for decades. Does that mean we all have higher levels of cavities? Of course not,” Dr. Hoss said. “If cavities are up — and that’s a big if, since we don’t have enough data yet — there could be a variety of reasons for it.” Pre-pandemic, most people went to the dentist every six months for regular check-ups. Skipping those check-ups because of shelter in place laws, self-quarantine, means problems your dentist might have caught before they turned into cavities did not get the treatment they needed, Dr. Hoss noted.

About The Super Dentists

The Super Dentists is ranked number one among pediatric dentists throughout the San Diego area. The oral care practice provides top-tier pediatric dentistry, orthodontic, and parent dentistry services. The Super Dentists maintains a track record of success in offering uniquely enjoyable experiences to the children who come through its doors.

Disclaimer: The news site hosting this press release is not associated with Dr Kami Hoss. It is merely publishing a paid press release announcement submitted by a company, without any stated or implied endorsement of the Doctor, product, service, or information above.