Diabetes is well known for its ability to attack various parts of the human body, such as the heart or nerves. In an attempt to keep their disease under control, many diabetic patients take medications, and are thus able to improve the quality of their life. However, diabetes can also generate mouth pain with certain patients. It's not until these individuals have started experiencing mouth pain that they realize that the condition has also affected that body area. This article discusses the correlation between diabetes and gum disease.
Diabetes increases the risk of gum disease
One of the main complications of diabetes is that it leads to the thickening of blood vessels, which considerably increases the risk of gum disease. Because your blood vessels no longer function properly, your body won't be supplied in nutrients at the same pace as usual. In addition, waste removal will be performed more slowly because of the decrease in the speed of blood flow. In such circumstances, the risk of mouth infections and gum disease is significantly higher. This is especially true if you keep on eating sugary foods, regardless of the quantity.
As a diabetic, you know that you need to keep your blood glucose levels under control. This is because any oral infection will allow mouth bacteria to develop at a very fast rate, since they thrive on sugar.
Another factor that relates to diabetes and the development of gum disease is smoking. This is because tobacco use slows the healing process, and thus makes the smoker more prone to gum disease, just like sugar consumption. It's also important to note that this likelihood skyrockets if you're suffering from diabetes.
Improving the health of your mouth
Reducing the risk of contracting periodontal disease requires that you adopt a number of healthy habits, such as taking good care of your teeth and gums. In addition, it's very important that you work with a qualified dentist, like those at Crystal Dental Care, as soon as you find out about your diabetes, so that they can quickly design a medical plan for you. You'll probably need to see them every 6 months for routine visits.
As you might see, there's a clear correlation between gum disease and diabetes. But working with a dentist will guarantee that you'll never have to deal with gum disease, in addition to diabetes, since the medical professional will give you good oral hygiene tips to adopt every day.
Share31 March 2015
Do you have "bad teeth"? I do. Ever since I was a kid, every checkup turns up a number of issues ranging from cavities to dental fractures. It has always been frustrating to keep my smile in decent shape, which is one of the reasons I started focusing on understanding different dental problems. I wanted to know what I was getting into when I visited the doctor, so I began focusing on learning as much as I could. I wanted to create this blog all about dentistry so that other people could find out what to expect when they head to the dentist. Check it out!
