A Complementary Mechanism Explaining Dry Eye Disease during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Prolonged wearing of face masks might reduce movement of the jaw muscle, thereby reducing salivary gland secretion, and indirectly lacrimal gland secretion. Also, less frequent yawning and face-to-face verbal communication during the pandemic may have also reduced mandibular motion, thus contributing to altered patterns of blood flow to the eyes and regional cerebral blood flow. This may serve as an additional mechanism that might help to explain pandemic-related dry eye disease and facilitate the discovery of better preventive measures and therapeutic agents for the management of dry eye symptoms.