Dental Care Helps Diabetes Control
New Group of Dental Clinics Aims to Help Lower Blood Sugar Readings
Feb 12, 2009
Because people who have diabetes are twice as likely to have gum disease, a new national organization of dentists in the U.S. is working to help reduce blood sugar and prevent significant increases in risk for heart attack, stroke, blindness and kidney disease. Dentistry For Diabetics (DFD) says gum disease and blood sugar levels interact, making each condition worse and contributing to even more serious health problems.
Links Between Elevated Blood Sugar and Dental Health Increase Risk
Founded in 2007 by Richmond, VA dentist Charles W. Martin, DFD has drawn together a growing body of scientific evidence that documents the links between dental health and diabetic symptoms. This two-way relationship works through the body’s immune system in a complex chain of reactions that researchers have discovered only relatively recently.
Here’s one way in which this complicated series of intertwined responses can play out:
- High blood sugar levels increase glucose in gum tissue. Oral bacteria use the glucose for food and breed entire colonies.
- As the bacteria colonize beneath the gum line, their waste products irritate the gum tissue.
- Parts of the body’s immune system interpret the irritation as an invasion and trigger cells designed to surround and kill the bacteria.
- More fighting between the bacteria and the immune cells produces more inflammation, which results in a stronger immune response.
- Some of the immune cells can interfere with the way insulin enables tissues to use glucose.
- Because tissue cells can’t burn as much glucose, more of it stays in the bloodstream. The result is higher blood sugar readings.
Impact of Dental Treatment on Diabetic Symptoms
When this process continues for a long time, oral bacteria are actually able to enter the bloodstream and relocate throughout the body. This can result in systemic inflammation, which has been implicated in arterial disease that contributes to heart attack and stroke as well as other health risks. These oral bacteria have been found in carotid arteries and even in the lining of the aorta.
“This damage is entirely preventable,” says DFD founder Martin. “A routine procedure called scaling and root planing disrupts these bacteria before they can cause the inflammation that triggers the immune response. Because of their increased risks, people who have diabetes can benefit from dental visits every three months rather than the typical six-month cleaning and oral exam.”
Dental Care and Treatment of Diabetes
The DFD clinical approach is rooted in scientific research. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, treating gum disease reduces the inflammation that triggers the immune response. Another scientific publication, the Journal of Periodontology, reported that dental treatment to fight gum infection helps improve blood sugar levels.
According to the Defeat Diabetes Foundation, people who have both diabetes and severe gum disease have a premature death rate nearly eight times higher than people with diabetes who don’t have periodontal disease.
DFD trains dentists in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of periodontal disease associated with diabetes. DFD certifies dentists who complete an exclusive educational program developed from extensive medical, integrative medicine, alternative health and dentistry research, professional journals, the American Diabetes Association, and curriculum from such sources as the International Diabetes Center.
All DFD-certified dentists are required to participate in continuing education including current information on patient education, care and case management as well as practice management and community outreach. DFD also donates a portion of its revenues to the American Diabetes Association, funding research and patient education programs. The organization also operates a Web site and an informative blog.
If this article was helpful, check out New Diabetic Medications Tested for details on a new compound that may produce better A1C levels plus weight loss and lower blood pressure.
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