TOOTH LOSS DUE TO GRANULOMATOUS PERIODONTITIS AFTER CORONAVIRUS INFECTION. A CASE REPORT OF EIGHT CASES

Melkumian Gor Akopovich

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is characterized by its ability to affect various organs both through direct infection and through the body's immune response. The lack of oral hygiene, opportunistic infections, stress, immunosuppression, vasculitis, and hyperinflammatory response are predisposing factors for oral cavity lesions in patients with COVID-19. Often, after recovering from the coronavirus infection, a significant number of outwardly healthy and young patients develop severe complications. One of them is granulomatous periodontitis - a chronic multifactorial inflammatory disease characterized by progressive destruction of tooth-supporting structures. The active form of chronic periodontitis is accompanied by the formation of granulomas, fistulas, granulomas, and the occurrence of abscesses in the periapical tissues. The morphological picture of granulomatous periodontitis is characterized by bone tissue destruction. This article examines cases of granulomatous periodontitis with tooth loss in patients who have had COVID-19 in order to establish a potential connection between the two. Materials and methods. This article analyzes 8 clinical cases of granulomatous periodontitis in patients who underwent Covid-19. The diagnosis was made on the basis of an examination performed on a Planmeca 3D Plus tomography machine. The patients voluntarily signed informed consent to treatment and publication of personal medical information. Aim. To analyze cases of granulomatous periodontitis with tooth loss in COVID-19-treated patients and to establish a potential association between tooth loss due to granulomatous periodontitis and COVID-19. Results. All eight cases in this report had very similar and characteristic clinical features: young age of the patients, unburdened general medical history, rapid and nearly asymptomatic development of granulomatous periodontitis after a past coronavirus infection, leading to tooth extraction. Conclusion. Analysis of clinical cases suggests a possible correlation between the onset of granulomatous periodontitis and a history of COVID-19. However, further large-scale studies are needed to clarify the potential link between periodontal diseases and COVID-19.

Keywords:COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus, granulomatous periodontitis, tooth loss.