Long-COVID and the practice of Oral Medicine

Once we are beyond the life and death concern, the scariest aspect to me of getting coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is the prospect of long-term consequences that create disability and affect quality of life. In particular when facing the long-haul or long-COVID syndrome, there is possible prolonged duration of change in smell and taste, chronic fatigue, cognitive difficulties, and other unknown durable sequelae. Being surrounded by stories of taste changes, from my 13-year-old niece who reported her sudden taste loss to her mother that precipitated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing, to my dental assistant who reported it was like a “taste switch” was turned off where her taste was fine at breakfast and acutely was altered by lunchtime, to my dental resident who initially experienced complete loss of taste and smell and still today, 11 months after acute COVID-19 recovery has altered taste/smell sensations described as an u nusual, not particularly pleasant, singular taste/smell for all foods.
Source: Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontics - Category: ENT & OMF Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research