How Does Type II Diabetes Affect Dental Treatment?

How Does Type II Diabetes Affect Dental Treatment?

April 1, 2023

Diabetes affects the ability of your body to use glucose or blood sugar for energy causing many complications. Diabetes can cause nerve damage, heart disease, stroke, blindness, and kidney disease. Another problem associated with diabetes is gum disease and other dental health problems.

The American Diabetes Association states that people with diabetes are at higher risk of gingivitis, periodontal disease, and periodontitis, a severe gum infection causing jawbone destruction. Diabetes inhibits your ability to battle the bacteria responsible for gum infections. In addition, gum disease also affects your body’s control of blood sugar.

Diabetes is also associated with increased risks of thrush, a fungal infection. The condition also causes xerostomia leaving you with a dry mouth and increasing your risk of mouth ulcers, soreness, cavities, and dental infections. Therefore if you have Type II diabetes, you are at risk of the conditions described and must remain careful with your dental health by keeping in touch with your dentist in St. Catharines, ON, without exceptions.

Preventive Measures to Adopt for Type II Diabetes

The optimal way to prevent diabetes-related complications to your dental health is to maintain excellent control over blood sugar levels. Therefore, you must check blood sugar frequently and notify your healthcare provider if your blood sugar levels are challenging to control with diet, oral medications, or insulin.

You must also maintain excellent dental hygiene by brushing your teeth twice per day and flossing at least once in visiting the dentist near you for dental exams and cleanings in St Catharine’s, ON, at intervals suggested by the professional. As a precautionary measure, you can ask the dentist whether you need more frequent visits than at six monthly intervals. However, if you notice warning signs or symptoms of gum disease, you must request treatment from the dentist immediately.

You can check your mouth for abnormalities every month, looking for areas of dryness and white patches. Bleeding areas are also concerning.

If your blood sugar is not under control, you must refrain from scheduling elective procedures like teeth whitening in St Catharine’s, ON, because the process is not considered medically essential. Teeth whitening merely improve your aesthetic appearance without changing your oral health and is best avoided if your blood sugar is not under control.

Dental Treatment with Type II Diabetes

The dental treatments you need with diabetes type II depend on the condition and its severity.

If you need treatment for periodontal disease, the Saint Catherine’s provider can give you a procedure called deep cleaning, which involves scaling and root planing to remove tartar on your teeth and beneath the gum line. Dentists also prescribe antibiotics with deep cleanings to ensure you don’t attract infections.

Occasionally gum surgery becomes a requirement for people with advanced periodontitis to prevent tooth loss. Therefore while you can receive treatments for dental health problems with diabetes type II, you must ensure you keep the blood sugar levels under control by working in conjunction with your physical healthcare provider to prevent complications.

Risk Factors of Dental Health Problems with Diabetes Type II

Diabetes type II can put you at a higher risk of oral health problems than others. For example, if you don’t maintain blood sugar levels as recommended, you will most likely develop gum infections. In addition, if you have diabetes and continue smoking, you become more vulnerable to oral health problems than people with diabetes but not smoke.

The National Institute of health comments that nearly 400 medications are associated with xerostomia or dry mouth. The medicines include diabetic treatments for nerve pain or neuropathy. Therefore you must inquire with your doctor or pharmacist if the medications you take might increase the risk of xerostomia, causing a dry mouth and leaving you with halitosis. In addition, dentists can prescribe oral rinses that help reduce dry mouth symptoms if required. You can also try sugar-free lozenges available without prescriptions at most drugstores to ease dry mouth symptoms.

If you pay proper attention to your diabetes control and oral health, you can maintain healthy teeth and gums. However, you must visit your dentist at intervals recommended by them and disclose your diabetes symptoms with your medications. The information helps the dentist create a personalized treatment plan to provide the best treatments to help you maintain excellent dental health.

Girardi Dental provides dental To many diabetic patients affected by Type II diabetes. If affected by this condition, kindly consult them to receive a personalized treatment plan to ensure diabetes type II doesn’t affect your dental health.

Our dental office in St. Catharines, ON also welcome patients from the below-mentioned nearby areas:

  • Port Dalhousie
  • Niagara-on-the-Lake
  • Beamsville
  • Lincoln
  • Port Weller
  • Lakeport
  • Grantham
  • Haig
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