COVID-19 and the Oral Cavity

In April, the NIDCR Salivary Disorders Unit under Blake Warner, teaming with many other institutions, launched a study on the role of the oral cavity in the spread and transmission of COVID-19. By September, the study had determined that saliva testing was as effective as nasal swabs, the viral load in saliva correlated with loss of taste in COVID patients, and that masking minimized transmission.