Patients who have diabetes are indeed more prone to the development of periodontal (gum) disease, increasing blood sugar level, and diabetic complications. One of the other reasons people with diabetes are more likely to get infected with gum disease is because they are more susceptible to contracting infections. Many dentists also claim that periodontal disease is a result of the complication of diabetes.
People who don’t have diabetes are indeed less prone to gum disease and thus are less affected by it. Many types of research have suggested that both periodontal disease and diabetes go hand in hand, i.e., gum disease has the potential to make it more difficult for people who have diabetes to control their blood sugar level, and in the same condition, it can reach the extreme conditions.
Many gum diseases can increase the patient’s blood sugar level. This condition puts people with diabetes at risk for diabetic complications.
Many patients with diabetes will also take many calcium channel blocker drugs like nifedipine for hypertension, which may result in gingival overgrowth in some of the cases. Other oral consequences of diabetes are that it may include xerostomia, which results in increased risk for caries, candida infection, and chronic mouth ulcers.
Even today, the mechanism that links diabetes to periodontitis is not completely understood. But it involves the aspects of immune functioning, neutrophil activity, and cytokine biology.
Diabetes increases the risk of periodontitis, and there is enough evidence that suggests that advanced periodontitis can compromise with glycaemic control. The periodontal treatment has been associated with improvement in glycaemic control.
Periodontal assessment sessions amongst all the patients with or without diabetes should make them aware of the consequence of having the periodontal disease and the amount of risk involved.
We at Impression Dentistry pay extra attention in assessing and treating people with diabetes and make sure that the patient has been given the best treatment and will be educated on this particular, which is done by our in-house professionals who come with a plethora of experience.
Call us at (669) 327-5623 or schedule an online consultation with our dentist to know more.