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. 2021 Jul;48(7):880-885.
doi: 10.1111/jcpe.13471. Epub 2021 May 4.

Dental biofilm of symptomatic COVID-19 patients harbours SARS-CoV-2

Sabrina Carvalho Gomes  1   2 , Sabrina Fachin  3 , Juliane Gonçalves da Fonseca  3 , Patrícia Daniela Melchiors Angst  1   2 , Marcelo Lazzaron Lamers  4 , Ilma Simoni Brum da Silva  5 , Luciana Neves Nunes  6
Affiliations

Dental biofilm of symptomatic COVID-19 patients harbours SARS-CoV-2

Sabrina Carvalho Gomes et al. J Clin Periodontol. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Aims: SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been recovered from different sites in the human body, including the mouth. The present study aimed to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the dental biofilm of symptomatic patients who tested positive in nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal (NASO/ORO) samples.

Materials & methods: An observational clinical study of individuals with flu-like symptoms was conducted between July and September 2020. Dental biofilm (BIO) samples were collected and analysed using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to determine the virus's presence.

Results: Seventy participants (40 ± 9.8 years of age, 71.4% female) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in NASO/ORO samples and were included in the study. Among them, 13 tested positive in BIO samples (18.6%; 95% CI: [9.5, 27.7]). The median and interquartile range of cycle quantification (Cq) for NASO/ORO and BIO samples were 15.9 [6.9] and 35.9 [4.0] (p = .001), respectively. BIO-positive participants showed a higher virus load in NASO/ORO samples (p = .012) than those testing negative (Cq = 20.4 [6.1]).

Conclusions: Dental biofilms from symptomatic COVID-19 patients harbour SARS-CoV-2 RNA and might be a potential reservoir with an essential role in COVID-19 transmission.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; dental plaque; observational study; pandemics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have stated that there are no conflicts of interest in connection with this article.

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