Periodontal Therapy for the Diabetic Patient

 Periodontal Associates - Therapy for the Diabetic Patient

Part of our role here at Periodontal Associates in Aurora, Colorado is to educate our patients and the Denver metro community. We have several useful health related articles involving the periodontal connection on our website. We have provided information about periodontitis and diabetes entitled "Periodontal Disease and Diabetes". It's a great article to share. 

Prevention, early diagnosis and consequent treatment of periodontal diseases may have a major impact on the control of diabetes. Research suggests that not only does diabetes influence the progress of periodontal diseases, but active periodontal disease also influeces the diabetic state.

The systemic inflammatory response generated by inflamed periodontal tissues aggravates insulin resistance and increases blood sugar, thus creating a vicious cycle of diabetes and periodontitis exacerbating each other and putting diabetic patients at increased risk for diabetic complications.

People with diabetes are more than twice as likely to have periodontal disease than people without diabetes because diabetics are more susceptible to contracting infections. This may be due to numerous physiological phenomena seen in diabetes, such as impaired immune resistance, vascular changes, altered microflora, and abnormal collagen metabolism. People with uncontrolled diabetes are especially at risk. A study in the Journal of Periodontology found that poorly controlled type 2 diabetic patients are more likely to develop periodontal disease then well-controlled diabetics.

Aggressive management of oral health in diabetic patients may diminish the adverse inflammatory effects on diabetes control. Several studies have reported that when periodontal infections were treated, the management of diabetes markedly improved. 

These studies suggest that the reduction of periodontal inflammation can be very helpful in controlling blood glycemic levels and reducing insulin requirements. 

For diabetics, periodontal disease therapy is a long-term venture, requiring some modifications of the customary periodontal treatment applied to non-diabetics. If you're concerned about your periodontal health, please contact Periodontal Associates to schedule a comprehensive exam. For your convenience, you may also email us at appointments@periodontalhealth.com or call (303)755-4500.