PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kanjirath, Preetha P.
AU  - Kim, Seung Eun
AU  - Inglehart, Marita Rohr
TI  - Diabetes and Oral Health: The Importance of Oral Health–Related Behavior
DP  - 2011 Sep 01
TA  - American Dental Hygienists Association
PG  - 264--272
VI  - 85
IP  - 4
4099  - http://jdh.adha.org/content/85/4/264.short
4100  - http://jdh.adha.org/content/85/4/264.full
SO  - J Dent Hyg2011 Sep 01; 85
AB  - Purpose: The objective of this study was to explore oral health–related behavior, how patients with diabetes differ from patients not diagnosed with diabetes in their oral health and whether oral health–related behavior moderates the oral health status of patients with diabetes. Methods: Survey and chart review data were collected from 448 patients (52% male, 48% female, average age: 57 years) of which 77 were diagnosed with diabetes (17%). Results: Patients with diabetes had a higher percentage of teeth with mobility than those not diagnosed with diabetes (14% vs. 8%, p=0.023), as well as gingival recession (16% vs. 12%, p=0.035) and more teeth with recession in the esthetic zone (1.17 vs. 0.88, p=0.046). They also had more decayed, missing and filled surfaces due to caries (101 vs. 82, p<0.001) and more missing teeth due to caries (11 vs. 7, p<0.001). Patients with diabetes brushed and flossed less frequently. Patients with diabetes who did not brush regularly had poorer periodontal health (percentage of teeth with probing depth of <4 mm: 82% vs. 60%, p=0.039, 4 to 6 mm: 34% vs. 17%, p=0.059) and more caries (percentage of decayed teeth: 32% vs. 15%, p=0.033) than regularly brushing patients with diabetes. Conclusion: Educating patients with diabetes about the importance of good oral self care needs to become a priority for their oral health care providers.