While you may think of your physical and oral health as entirely seperate issues, the status of one actually has a profound effect on the other. The stability of your oral health greatly effects the quality of your physical health, and vice versa. Scholars know this through studies completed monitoring the realationship between common health afflictions and dental hygeine. There is a particular effective example in the strong connection between patients with diabetes and periodontal disease.
The relationship between periodontal disease and diabetes is cyclical. Patients with diabetes are three times more likely to develop developled periodontitis; patients with peridontal diesase exhibit an increased risk for developing diabetes. This mutual feeding stems from the the body’s consistantly elevated blood sugar levels, which diminishes the abilty to fight infection. The oral cavity also contends with an increased sugar content in the salivia and decreased salivia production, which further exacerbates the build up of plaque and reproduction of bacteria.
Gum diseases can be identified through the presecence of reddening, swelling, bleeding, and tenderness inthe gums, alongside a receeding gumline, bad breath, and loose teeth. These symptoms are easily ignored, as they often do not come along with pain. A lack of discomfort does not mean a lack of serious complication; it is important to monitor your oral health and see your provider if you exhibit many of these.
Since periodontal disease exacerbates the general inflamation of the body, studies show that proper management of periodotnal disease lessens the effect of diabetes on the body. If your provider notices severe dental decay your treatment may begin with a periodontal scaling of the area. With this treatment, denstits are able to clean below the gumline, ensuring a complete and thorough cleaning. After this, your provider may transition you to tri-yearly cleanings as opposed to bi-yearly, to stave off the reapprece of the infection and decay. These cleanings are typically periodontal mattienece, which utlizes techniques from both a traditional dental cleanings and deep cleanings. Alognside these professional cleanings, mainting proper oral health at home through brushing, flossing, and general dental care is extremely important. With 50% of adults worldwide exhibiting the symptoms of periodontal disease, it is extremely important for those who are vunerable to take diligent and proper care of their dentition.
Patients with diabetes are also vunerable to thrush, a fungal, yeast based infection that lives in the mouth. This thrives on the dry and high sugar oral enviroment created by diabetes. Symptoms of thrush include white patches across the mouth, inflamation and redness, bleeding, loss of taste, and pain in the throat. Thrush can be treated by a medical or dental provider, and treatment typically involves a course of antifungal medication.
If you are concerned about your oral health, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 484-887-0777. We will be happy to help with your care!