Got Diabetes? Better Watch Your Mouth!
Got Diabetes? Better Watch Your Mouth!
Sept. 18, 2000 -- People who have diabetes -- whether they require insulin injections or not -- have more dental problems than do their nondiabetic counterparts, according to a pair of new studies. The problems range from dry mouth, cavities, and taste impairment to fungal infections, gum disease, and tooth loss. The good news, though, is that a little extra effort toward maintaining good diabetes control and proper oral hygiene can go a long way toward reducing the damage.
"It's not hopeless," says Sol Silverman, DDS, professor of oral medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. "In the well-controlled diabetic, there is really no difference in their oral health compared to the [rest of the] population. But if there is poor control or poor oral hygiene, then you run the risk of [cavities] and periodontal disease."
The first study -- which came out of Sweden and was published in the September issue of Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice -- looked at 102 patients, average age 65, with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a disease in which the pancreas either fails to produce any insulin, a substance that helps the body digest sugar, or fails to produce enough of it. Patients who get the disease in childhood are usually diagnosed as type 1 patients and require daily insulin injections or infusions to stay healthy. Type 2 patients, on the other hand, usually acquire the disease at a later age and can often control it with exercise, weight loss, proper diet, and insulin pills.
In this study, the Swedish researchers conducted a comprehensive dental examination of the diabetes patients, including X-rays, and they also analyzed blood samples to see how well the patients were controlling their diabetes. They compared those results to the same battery of tests performed on 102 other study volunteers. These people did not have diabetes but were otherwise the same in terms of age and gender.
In the dental exams, the researchers found that the diabetic patients not only had more "pockets" between their gums and teeth -- which indicates moderate to advanced gum disease -- they also had deeper pockets on average. The diabetic patients also had more plaque on their teeth and experienced more bleeding of the gums upon examination. The 22 diabetics who were on insulin had more cavities than those who were controlling their diabetes through diet.
Got Diabetes? Better Watch Your Mouth!
Sept. 18, 2000 -- People who have diabetes -- whether they require insulin injections or not -- have more dental problems than do their nondiabetic counterparts, according to a pair of new studies. The problems range from dry mouth, cavities, and taste impairment to fungal infections, gum disease, and tooth loss. The good news, though, is that a little extra effort toward maintaining good diabetes control and proper oral hygiene can go a long way toward reducing the damage.
"It's not hopeless," says Sol Silverman, DDS, professor of oral medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. "In the well-controlled diabetic, there is really no difference in their oral health compared to the [rest of the] population. But if there is poor control or poor oral hygiene, then you run the risk of [cavities] and periodontal disease."
The first study -- which came out of Sweden and was published in the September issue of Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice -- looked at 102 patients, average age 65, with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a disease in which the pancreas either fails to produce any insulin, a substance that helps the body digest sugar, or fails to produce enough of it. Patients who get the disease in childhood are usually diagnosed as type 1 patients and require daily insulin injections or infusions to stay healthy. Type 2 patients, on the other hand, usually acquire the disease at a later age and can often control it with exercise, weight loss, proper diet, and insulin pills.
In this study, the Swedish researchers conducted a comprehensive dental examination of the diabetes patients, including X-rays, and they also analyzed blood samples to see how well the patients were controlling their diabetes. They compared those results to the same battery of tests performed on 102 other study volunteers. These people did not have diabetes but were otherwise the same in terms of age and gender.
In the dental exams, the researchers found that the diabetic patients not only had more "pockets" between their gums and teeth -- which indicates moderate to advanced gum disease -- they also had deeper pockets on average. The diabetic patients also had more plaque on their teeth and experienced more bleeding of the gums upon examination. The 22 diabetics who were on insulin had more cavities than those who were controlling their diabetes through diet.
