Oral Health and Diabetes – What is the Connection?

Let's understand briefly about nutrition and how it is absorbed by the cells.

Macronutrients derived from food such as glucose, proteins, and lipids are absorbed into the blood where it is either distributed to different cells or stored in the liver or subcutaneous fat. For glucose, a messenger called insulin provides a gate pass for it to enter the cells. Cells use the glucose to produce the energy currency, known as ATP, with the help of oxygen. ATP is utilized for the building and functioning of our body among other many activities. In certain young people, insulin is not produced adequately. They suffer from Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) which form about only 10% of the total diabetics. Over 90% of diabetics suffer from Type 2 DM, a condition in which cells of the body don’t respond properly to the hormone insulin.

Let's understand how diabetes affects our teeth and poor oral health affect diabetes control.

Teeth are held tightly within the bone by a ligament and are surrounded by gums, which are made of a fibrous protein called collagen. In poorly controlled diabetes, the collagen is of low quality thus altering the maintenance of gum tissue and the repair mechanism. There is also a high risk of infection and subsequent pus collection within the gums and the ligament. This manifests as bleeding gums, loose teeth, bad breath and finally loss of teeth. In diabetics, an active infection within the oral cavity or elsewhere in the body is perceived as an emergency resulting in an increased level of blood glucose level and hence, poor diabetic control. Thus, the vicious cycle begins - poor oral health leads to poor diabetic control and poor diabetic control further worsens the oral health.

What can be done?

Maintaining good diabetic control is a prerequisite for having good oral health and vice versa. Diet, exercise, and medication form the three pillars for management of diabetes. Strong set of teeth are required for eating raw fibrous vegetables and other healthy food, which are an adjuvant to the treatment of diabetes. Poor oral health in a diabetic individual makes them choose soft food and they are unable to chew raw fibrous vegetables, which lead to poorer food choices, which will be a detrimental to maintain a good diabetic control.

Tips for good practices for good oral health & diabetic control

1. Be alert for the symptoms of diabetes that show up in daily life and get your blood glucose levels checked regularly.

2. Make sure you take the prescribed medicines regularly and keep your diabetic level in check.

3. Exercise regularly, consume a healthy diet and be positive!

4. Brush twice daily with soft bristle brush and clean in between teeth using a floss or interdental tooth brush.

5. Visit your dentist once in 6 months.

6. If you are denture wearer, please clean your dentures and do not wear them when you go to sleep in the night.