There is a direct link between diabetes and oral health.
Here at Bite Dental we have always been incredibly passionate about educating our Brisbane patients on the connection between the prevalence of diabetes and their oral health and formulating a treatment that keeps them in the best of health. The link between diabetes and oral health is something that a lot of patients might not be aware of, but your dental and general health are so in synch that we can even diagnose you by the condition of your mouth, gums and teeth. This constitutes a large part of our ongoing dedication to providing our patients with a dental care that is centred on improving your overall health and not just that of your teeth.
By going above and beyond the usual call of duty that you might associate with other dentistry practices, we ensure that you are educated on the important link between diabetes and dentistry. You can never underestimate the importance of a regular dental check-up and even more so if you suffer from diabetes. By staying on top of your oral health, we can diagnose and treat concerns as and when they become apparent.
Why is it so important to your wellbeing?
Diabetes is something that millions of people suffer from worldwide and it has the ability to wreak havoc with not only your immune system, but other areas of your body as well. One of the most troubling aspects of diabetes is that it can affect you for a long time, if not your entire life, then certainly for many, many years. In order for you to achieve proper function in all of your essential systems, your body needs to be able to effectively convert the sugar from food into energy by using a hormone called insulin. This is vitally important in the process of absorption from glucose into your cells.
What diabetes does is to prevent this hormone from being produced in the requisite amounts by your body and when we digest various foods where glucose is present such as cereals, fruit and some vegetables, we then cannot convert it into energy. The glucose is then unable to leave your bloodstream which causes a condition known as hyperglycaemia. Research from leading medical institutions has shown that hyperglycaemia can reduce the function of immune cells and increases inflammation in the body which can put you at risk of contracting infections that the body is then unable to deal with.
So what is the connection between diabetes and oral health?
Gum disease is one of the most common oral health concerns among patients but it can be incredibly stubborn and requires a thorough, well-coordinated treatment plan in order to correctly treat and manage it. If you are a diabetic, then naturally you need to be extra careful when it comes to maintaining your health and the ways in which it can be affected negatively. The regulation of your blood sugar is the best place to start in order to address your gum disease and the associated complications. Here at Bite Dental, we will schedule you for an appointment where you will receive a full gum measurement and check regardless of whether or not you are a diabetic. Various recent studies show an increase of diabetes in Australians and around 4% of us are diagnosed with diabetes at some point in their lives. Further to this point, The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study says that “Australia has rapidly rising prevalence of diabetes.
The prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance in Australia is one of the highest yet reported from a developed nation”. This is precisely the reason that we are able to treat you in a holistic fashion and don’t just focus on your teeth. We have gained a greater understanding of the connection between oral health and the contraction of chronic diseases. Which is why when you visit us for a general check-up, our comprehensive dental and oral review will take into account your medical history as an attempt to address your oral health and its connection to your general health. We will seek to educate you on the finer points of diabetes dentistry and how diabetes affects oral health, as well as providing you with resources that will help you to make positive changes to either.
How we can help
As one of the practices that prides itself on the advanced treatment of oral health concerns related to diabetes, we have developed a free screening program that is able to not only identify existing risk factors in our patients, but put you on a path to superior care. During our 20-minute consultation, you will receive an OPG radiograph, random BSL and detailed medical history review so that we can provide you with excellent care and deeper understanding of the important aspects of what you need.
To make an appointment with us, or to learn more about our unique approach to diabetes dentistry, please click here.