Masks do not cause halitosis
With masks, the exhaled air is easily detected by the affected person.
The belief is spreading on social networks that continued use of the mask is detrimental to oral health and that, for example, it causes halitosis. This is not true.
There is currently no scientific evidence that shows how the continued use of the mask is detrimental to oral health; on the contrary, the positive effect that this resource has on the prevention and reduction of the risk of contracting COVID-19, in combination with other measures, such as social distance and hand washing, has been sufficiently corroborated.
Healthcare professionals should base their protocols, decisions, and recommendations on well-designed clinical studies and trials demonstrating the benefit, harm, or cause-effect relationship. For example, we cannot say wearing a mask causes oral health problems.
Several unproven harms have been attributed to masks, such as halitosis or bad breath, a common disorder not always perceived by the person who suffers from it. It happens that with the masks, the air exhaled is easily detected by the affected person, which would justify an increase in the number of people currently aware that they have halitosis. It should also be considered that the deterioration of the masks, their lack of hygiene, their prolonged use beyond the recommendations, or excessive reuse, can favor this perception of bad breath and diminish their effectiveness as a barrier effect.
Although we do not "show off" our teeth now, it is necessary not to neglect or abandon oral hygiene (brushing and cleaning between teeth), cleaning the tongue, and maintaining optimal hydration as basic preventive measures against halitosis.
