Although you wouldn't guess it from the insanity that continues around the Western world when it comes to the Wuhan virus, we have a pretty good handle on the thing.  Nevertheless, the World Health Organization seems determined to make a bad situation worse.  It's now telling people to stop going to the dentist.

With the Wuhan virus plaguing the world for almost eight months, things are getting better, especially here in America.  We know that the elderly and people with co-morbidities are vulnerable and need to be protected.  We're getting more anecdotal evidence that, if given early enough, a drug combo of hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and azithromycin stops the virus from worsening.  And we're seeing that the disease, having worked its way through vulnerable populations, while still deadly, has a diminishing fatality rate.

Meanwhile, the fact that various governments have an obsessive focus on putting masks on everyone, not just those who are vulnerable, is creating problems.  These aren't only the problems of the loss of civil rights as police, in ways that range from polite to brutal, get free rein to enforce...well, not laws, because legislatures aren't involved, but ruling-class mandates.

Even without the politics of masks, these face coverings have issues.  Some people struggle with a lower oxygen flow.  Others are finding that masks are damaging their skin.  (There's even a word for it: "maskne.")  Holland and Denmark have officially turned against masks, saying they make a bad situation worse.

And then there's the damage to teeth and overall health:

"We're seeing inflammation in people's gums that have been healthy forever, and cavities in people who have never had them before," says Dr. Rob Ramondi, a dentist and co-founder of One Manhattan Dental. "About 50% of our patients are being impacted by this, [so] we decided to name it 'mask mouth' — after 'meth mouth.'"

The term "meth mouth" is widely used by dentists to describe the dental problems that arise among methamphetamine users. Addicts often end up with cracked, black- and brown-stained teeth because the stimulant causes sugar cravings, teeth grinding and jaw clenching. They also often neglect their oral hygiene.

While mask mouth isn't quite as obvious, if left untreated, the results could be equally harmful.

"Gum disease — or periodontal disease — will eventually lead to strokes and an increased risk of heart attacks," says Dr. Marc Sclafani, another co-founder of One Manhattan Dental.

One obvious solution for dealing with "mask mouth" is to head to the dentist — except that the World Health Organization, the same entity that covered for China when China was lying about the Wuhan virus, is telling people to skip the dentist:

The World Health Organization has issued new guidance advising people to postpone routine dental cleanings amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the WHO, all dental cleanings, oral health checkups and other preventative care should be delayed until coronavirus numbers in communities ease because dentists work in close proximity with patients for prolonged periods of time.

"Their procedures involve face-to-face communication and frequent exposure to saliva, blood, and other body fluids and handling sharp instruments," the guidance said." Consequently, they are at high risk of being infected with SARS-CoV-2 or passing the infection to patients."

For once, there's some pushback against the WHO.  (I imagine that Facebook — or, as Dan Bongino calls it, Fakebook — will be shutting down the pushback.)

The American Dental Association to the World Health Organization: Bite me.

The group of American dentists has released a statement disagreeing with the WHO for advising people to postpone what the latter described as "routine non-essential oral health care."

For the masticating masses, that essentially means regularly scheduled checkups.

"Oral health is integral to overall health," ADA president Dr. Chad Gehani said in a written statement. "Dentistry is essential health care because of its role in evaluating, diagnosing, preventing, or treating oral diseases, which can affect systemic health."

Basically, the ADA says that the same protections that dentists put in place in the 1980s to deal with AIDS will work fine now.

Once you remember that the WHO is very comfortable working with China, everything starts to make sense.

Image: Public Domain photo from the U.S. Navy.