Oral Health and Monkey Pox Virus: A brief overview

Table of Content

• Prevalence of Oral Symptoms in Monkeypox Virus Infection

• Oral Manifestations in Monkeypox Virus Infection

• Extra-oral Manifestations in Monkeypox

• Is Monkeypox another threat to Dentistry after COVID-19?

• Which areas of Dentistry are focused more on verge of Monkeypox Virus Infection

• Tips to manage oral Monkeypox Rash

• Take-Home Points

Prevalence of Oral Symptoms in Monkeypox Virus Infection

As mentioned on the WHO website, the monkeypox rashes are most populated on the face.

The face is affected in 95 % of cases and the oral mucous membrane is affected in 70 % of the cases.

Oral Manifestations in Monkeypox Virus Infection

• Enanthema occurs in 70 % of cases of oral mucosa. This is the first intraoral manifestation which develops on the tongue.

• Oropharyngeal lesions

• Tonsillitis

• Angular cheilitis in elderly.

• Difficulty in eating and drinking

• Difficulty in swallowing 

• The patient avoids eating due to pain in the tongue and ulcers. This negatively impacts the nutritional status.

• Sore throat

Extra-oral Manifestations in Monkeypox

The most important is the lymph node swelling in cervical, submandibular and submaxillary lymph nodes.

Is Monkeypox another threat to Dentistry after COVID-19?

COVID-19 posed a lot of challenges to dentists and the same goes with Monkeypox virus infection also. In dentistry prolonged face-to-face contact with the patients occur. Dental procedures involve touching the face, aerosols are produced and this gives a risk of transmission in the dental settings.

Oral health is the mirror of general health. Oral manifestations play an important role in disease diagnosis and carry a huge value for detection algorithms. The oral lesions can appear before fever. Like in the smallpox outbreak which occurred in Yugoslavia in 1972, ulcers in oral mucosa and tongue swelling were evident before fever. This depicts how important oral health is in diagnosis and evaluation.

Which areas of Dentistry are focused more on verge of Monkeypox Virus Infection

• Vaccination of the patient, the dentist and the dental team members.

• A thorough patient history

• Adopting all possible preventive measures like mask, gloves, disinfection, sanitization, and oral hygiene instructions.

• Tongue lesions should be prioritised.

• Pre-procedural rinsing.

The painful tongue is the most important clinical feature which drives the patient to the dentist. Studies show that swabs collected from such lesions are positive for the monkeypox virus. Does this increase the risk to the dentist?

Tips to manage oral Monkeypox Rash

These are must and easy-to-follow tips which should be followed by every patient with oral manifestations.

Take-Home Points

• Oral health is the site where general health conditions are diagnosed.

• There are diseases where symptom appears first in the oral cavity.

• Self-examination of oral health may save the patient from the negative effects of disease progression.

• Always consult your doctor if you experience rash amid rising cases of infection.

• Keep yourself updated on the latest health information. Visit our website for the latest updates on health-related issues and get information related to diagnosis, treatment, prevention and care.

References

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36029229/

• https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/monkeypox