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Oral Health Care & Diabetes

Doctors have known for years that type 2 diabetics have an increased incidence of periodontitis, or advanced gum disease. In July 2008 the connection was further highlighted: Researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health followednondiabetic participants, measuring their level of periodontic bacteria over the course of 2 decades. “We found that people who had higher levels of periodontal disease had a twofold risk of developing type 2 diabetes over that time period compared to people with low levels or no gum disease,” explains Dr Demmer, PhD, associate researcher at the department of epidemiology at the Mailman School and the lead author. While more research is needed before doctors can conclude that gum disease actually leads to diabetes, there are a few theories about why this might be the case: One states that when infections in your mouth get bad enough, they can lead to low-grade inflammation throughout your body, which in turn destroys your sugar-processing abilities. “There are all kinds of inflammatory molecules,” says Dr. Demmer, “and it’s believed that maybe some attach to insulin receptors and prevent the body’s cells from using the insulin to get glucose into the cell.”

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