Connecting Diabetes & Oral Health: What You Need to Know

Diabetes and the Body-Mouth Connection

The body and mouth are connected. When illness impacts one, it also impacts the other. Even when well-controlled, diabetes increases the risk of developing certain dental diseases. These risks increase as blood sugar rises and diabetes gets more difficult to manage and becomes uncontrolled diabetes. Uncontrolled diabetes contributes to the development of cavities, gum disease, and other oral health complications, including tooth loss. According to research published by the American Dental Association, one in five cases of total tooth loss is linked to diabetes¹.

While this sounds very grim, the good news is that the body-mouth connection works both ways. Improving your oral health can help improve your overall health. The right dental care treatment and daily at-home care routines can help you take charge of your oral health and better control your diabetes at the same time.

Diabetes, Blood Sugar, and Your Mouth

Blood sugar (blood glucose) management is the number one day-to-day concern for people living with diabetes. While you may be intimately familiar with your glycemic index at any given time, you might not realize the impact high blood sugar has on oral health². How? It starts with saliva. When blood glucose is high, glucose levels in saliva rise too.

Uncontrolled diabetes makes it harder for your body to heal and fight infection. Increased sugars in saliva combined with a lowered ability to fight infection create the perfect environment for a fungal infection called oral thrush (candidiasis) to develop. Oral thrush causes painful patches of growth in the mouth, on the cheeks, tongue, or throat³.

As cavity-causing plaque builds up, it hardens into tartar (which can only be removed by an MDA dentist or dental hygienist). If left untreated, tartar build-up and cavities can cause further complications. In those with uncontrolled diabetes, these can happen fast—even between routine visits to an MDA dentist—and make managing diabetes more difficult.

The Diabetes–Gum Disease Link

From causing sickly sweet breath to yellowing tooth enamel, high blood sugar and diabetes-related inflammation can quickly lead to bigger problems in your mouth: gum disease.

Those with diabetes are up to three times more likely to develop advanced gum disease (periodontitis) than those without diabetes⁵. The less under control your diabetes is, the more at risk you are for developing gum disease.

• Gingivitis is the earliest stage of gum disease. Changes in your mouth along with diabetes-related inflammation in the gums cause gum tissue to pull back and expose teeth. This leaves you at greater risk for cavities, oral infections, and tooth loss. Early treatment from an MDA dentist’s team and good daily at-home routines can help prevent gingivitis from advancing.
• Periodontitis is an advanced form of gum disease. It causes severe deterioration of gum tissue, increased oral infections, jawbone loss, and total tooth loss. This disease often takes hold as diabetes advances and gets worse as blood sugar gets harder to control⁶. This stage of gum disease requires extensive treatment from an MDA dentist or MDA periodontist.

As destructive as it can be, gum disease impacts more than your mouth. Just as increased blood sugar levels contribute to gum disease, the inflammation caused by gum disease has been proven to interfere with blood sugar levels. This makes it harder to control your daily blood sugar levels, making uncontrolled diabetes even worse. This is the diabetes-gum disease link. It may not be possible to break, but it can be managed with the right dental care intervention⁷.

Diabetes and Dental Care: Visiting an MDA Dentist

Treating diabetes-related gum disease and oral health issues is possible with the help of an MDA dentist and their dental care team. Improving your oral health allows you to better manage your diabetes. If you haven’t been to a dentist in a while, schedule a visit! Your MDA dentist wants to help you get back on track for diabetes management and your overall well-being.

Here’s what you can expect from your appointment with an MDA dentist and their team:

• Tell your MDA dental team about your diabetes diagnosis and any recent illness-related symptoms or complications—even if they don’t occur in your mouth. That includes issues with wound healing or difficulty with daily blood sugar regulation.
• Share your latest A1C level with your dental care team. This figure provides insight into the long-term state of your diabetes and helps your MDA dentist evaluate how at-risk you are for certain complications.
• MDA dentists look for changes in your health from one visit to the next. Depending on your oral and overall health, your MDA dentist may want to see you more frequently than every six months to treat illness or monitor changes in your mouth, teeth, and gums.
• Ask questions. It’s always okay to ask questions! Your MDA dentist and their team are here to listen with compassion, provide informed advice, and help you on your journey to improved oral and overall health.
• Tip: Avoid scheduling appointments that conflict with your regular meal times. Take your blood glucose before your appointment and share that number with your dental care team. They may check it again when you arrive.

A visit to your MDA dentist is a great first step in taking charge of your oral health—and learning what you can do to keep it—and your diabetes—in check.

 

Find an MDA Dentist Near You

Don’t have a dentist? Use our Find a Dentist tool to find an MDA dentist in your area. At your next appointment, talk to your dentist about your diabetes—for the sake of your oral and overall health!