By Diabetes mellitus currently affects about 371 million people all through the world. This set of endocrine disease is caused by an absolute deficiency (when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin) or relative (when the cells do not respond in a proper way to the present insulin). These conditions result in the elevated blood glucose levels over an extended time.
If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, either insipid, insulin-dependent, non-insulin-dependent or gestational or if you suspect that you might be suffering from diabetes, it is a must to notify your dentist when you head out for the consultation to take it into account when planning to have your dental treatment or prescribe any medication.
Diabetic patients typically suffer from polyuria, or increased urine output, which is accompanied by polydipsia, or excessive thirst and to compensate for fluid loss through urine and polyphagia or increased appetite, especially of foods with carbohydrates, although in severely decompensated cases, there may be loss of appetite or anorexia.
Polyuria probably influences the decrease of saliva secretion that occurs in diabetics, producing sed in these patients. Also, xerostomia or saliva secretion decreases with increasing intake of carbohydrates increasing the propensity to decay, especially if accompanied by poor dental and oral hygiene.
It is typical for type 1 diabetics to become thinner due to inefficient metabolism of glucose, proteins and fats, as opposed to type 2, which tends to make the patients obese for the reason that they have a reserve of insulin.
The diabetics suffer from delayed healing of wounds and are more prone to the infection than the rest of the population precisely due to the presence of more glucose in the blood. These are very important factors to consider in the dental treatment, especially when treatments which may have bleeding or infection risks.
People with diabetes are more likely to suffer gingivitis, periodontitis and oral cavity infections such as candidness. You must go to the dentist on a regular basis for proper hygiene and review the brushing techniques, diet and maintain the control of good oral health pertaining to both teeth as well as gums.
You cannot take the matter of diabetes lightly when you visit the dentist by showing careless attitude and not informing him/her about diabetes. In fact, the dentist especially asks you before starting the treatment if you are having the issues of blood pressure and diabetes or any other disease. In case of diabetes, the dentist has to choose the medicines and anesthesia accordingly to prevent any medical complications.
