Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Biology

Mentor

Mrs. Stacie Smith

Abstract

The oral cavity has the ability to transport infections throughout the body and be infected by bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is the virus that led to the most recent pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 has unique ways of interacting with the human body to infect individuals, which has led researchers and scientists to have limited knowledge on its long-term impact on human health. However, there are ways to identify various oral cavity infections and prevent infection now and in the future. Many studies have been conducted in an attempt to understand the body’s response to SARS-CoV-2 since it is a unique virus with little previous knowledge on how it impacted human health. Many viral, anatomical, and physiological aspects must be understood to determine the means in which SARS-CoV-2 infects humans, how the human body reacts, and the impact the virus has during and after infection. The oral cavity acts as one of the major gateways SARS-CoV-2 uses to enter and infect the human body, so it is crucial to develop an understanding of the virus’ means of transmission and interaction with the human body so proactive and reactive means of treatment can be developed.

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