Background and objective: The relationship between diabetes and periodontal diseases is well established. Our aim in this study was to explore the diabetes-related parameters that are associated with accelerated periodontal destruction in diabetic youth.
Material and methods: Three-hundred and fifty 6-18-year-old children with diabetes received a periodontal examination. Data on important diabetes-related variables were collected. Analyses were performed using logistic regression, with gingival/periodontal disease as the dependent variable, for the whole cohort and separately for two subgroups (6-11 and 12-18 years of age).
Results: Regression analyses, adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, frequency of prior dental visits, dental plaque, and dental examiner, revealed a strong positive association between mean hemoglobin A1c over the 2 years prior to inclusion in the study and periodontitis (odds ratio = 1.31, p = 0.030). This association approached significance in the younger subgroup (odds ratio = 1.56, p = 0.052, n = 183). There was no significant relationship between diabetes duration or body mass index-for-age and measures of gingival/periodontal disease in this cohort.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that accelerated periodontal destruction in young people with diabetes is related to the level of metabolic control. Good metabolic control may be important in addressing periodontal complications in young patients with diabetes, similarly to what is well established for other systemic complications of this disease.