Objective: To interview health professionals in a Latino community about the association between diabetes and periodontitis, and provide a basis to develop interventions for them to promote oral health and good glycemic control among patients with diabetes.
Methods: Five dentists, seven nurses and two nutritionists were interviewed about their practices relevant to oral health and diabetes, knowledge about the association, beliefs about Latinos, recommendations on reaching others in their fields, and barriers. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed qualitatively.
Results: Professionals identified policy, community and practice barriers for promoting diabetic control and oral health.
Conclusions: Producing a resource list, cross-educating professionals about diabetes and oral health, training professionals to better serve Latino patients, developing appropriate protocols for each profession regarding the association between diabetes and periodontitis, and educating the community about diabetic control, oral health and disease prevention were identified as potential strategies to improve oral health among Latino persons with diabetes.