I wish my dentist had told me more about gum disease

JohnEGreen said:

Or have like me your parotid glands removed so vast reduction in saliva and associated protective enzymes and number of teeth so with diabetes added double whammy.

Was not warned when Parotids removed due to tumors and was not warned where diabetes is concerned.

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Always sad to hear someone else wasn't told about this in time.

helensaramay said:

My understanding is that when we have high BG, especially for a prolonged period, our bodies look for ways to get rid of the sugar and "squirts" it out through most possible means: this is why weeing is a common symptom of diabetes; but so is gum disease as the sugar is coming out in our saliva.
I also found my tears tasted sweet when I was first diagnosed.

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That makes sense, thanks for the extra info. It must come out in perspiration too... which would feed the bacteria that is normally on our skin, leading to infections/rashes.

Metabolism_Boss said:

I lost three teeth to sudden abscesses, by this I mean that I would ring to ask for an appointment in the morning because I was getting a twinge in a tooth. By the afternoon I was begging for an emergency appointment because I was in agony. I often wonder if this was a symptom of my diabetes. I have partial dentures now and I am very careful to clean them and my teeth after every meal. So far I've had no further problems.

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I have had two root canals done on separate occasions. The first went from no pain to in-agony within an hour. My dentist saw me straight away. As soon as he injected the local anaesthetic all the pain was gone. He then removed the infected pulp and filled it in with a temporary filling. I came back a week later to have the whole thing done.

If I ever need another one and it's not visible to others I'm getting an extraction. Most dental care is not covered by the NZ "NHS." I paid for each root canal without a crown NZD$900 (GBP472). A crown would have cost another $900. And the procedure is lengthy and a bit uncomfortable.

It's only now occurred to me that the reason I needed these two root canals was probably because of diabetes. I'm so glad it's been a long time since then. Touch wood.

archersuz said:

Please provide a source for that. I can't find anything and I would hate blood donors to be put off by your comment. I do not believe that if there was any evidence of this that the Blood Service would allow diabetics to donate. They put the donor's health before anyone elses.

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Easy, tiger. I didn't make the claim. Please see my earlier responses to this question at posts #4 and #10 above, thanks.

hankjam said:

How much is gum disease a given to diabetics, is it a direct response to diabetes or something often associated with diabetes?

At a recent check-up, every 6 months, my dentist told me she didn't need to do routine X-rays as she knew I was low carbing and that my teeth/gums were in great shape. Known her a long time... I taught her as a 1st year undergraduate.

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I don't know the answer to that question, but I am sure there is reliable professional info online about the topic. I remember being given a very good brochure about it once.

I get x-rays at every visit, but then I have a known history of dental problems. You may be OK not having them unless she thinks there is a need, but it might be worth doing a bit of reading just to see what the standard practice is. She sounds like she knows what she's talking about.

LittleGreyCat said:

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/can-people-with-diabetes-give-blood.html
Says for reasons not to be able to give blood:
"

• If you have had complicated dental work: over time, prolonged exposure to high blood glucose levels can damage the teeth, giving people with diabetes a heightened risk of needing complicated dental work such as a tooth extraction

"
Which led to my slightly tongue in cheek comment that donating blood apparently makes your teeth fall out.

I would guess that children of the '50s and '60s will often have had extensive dental work because the dentists were paid per filling and encouraged by their training to drill and fill.

These days dentists are much more relaxed about the whole thing because small amounts of decay often don't progress and drilling and filling can do more harm than good.

I am still not really making the connection between extensive dental work and blood donation, unless extensive dental work is taken as a sign of poor control.

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I don't really see the connection either, or what they are getting at. The only thing I can think of is that they are using "having had complicated dental work done" as some kind of indirect proxy for a previous history of longstanding high BGs? ie, if you had high BGs, it led to tooth decay and having work done.

Tenuous at best. I think they are trying to find out a person's history, assuming the person would lie about it.

These rules were probably set by a committee of the kind of people who enjoy having meetings when an email would do.

lucylocket61 said:

this is very useful information on this thread. I had no idea bs levels can affect my teeth. 3 years ago, when my sugars went high for a while for a different condition I have, I had two dental abscesses in swift succession and had to have the tooth out eventually. No one mentioned the connection between tooth/gum problems and sugar levels.

for the past 2 months i have had tingling in my gums, and a sort of 'moving toothache' which is unexplained, my dentist found nothing wrong with my teeth, but my sugars have been 1 point higher than usual (around 7 instead of 5-6) due to my other condition and the meds, so that would explain it perhaps.

thank you.

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I'm so glad this info is helpful to you. It's really rewarding to help others in this way, especially as I'm not able to do much volunteer work due to my chronic fatigue and other medical conditions. Sharing info online that helps others makes me feel that some value has come out of the health problems I've had.

I get a kind of moving toothache and the dentist can never identify any tooth that needs attention because of it. However, since I had a bruxism splint made and use it every night, the pain is almost gone. Bruxism is teeth grinding or clenching and it's very common. It can lead to broken teeth, infections and the wearing down of teeth to the point where the enamel is gone and problems result from that.

My splint cost about the equivalent of 100 GBP. The dentist took an impression then I returned a week later to pick up the splint. I gradually wear the splint down too, my bruxism is that bad, LOL. I hate to think of that pressure on my teeth instead!

Next time you see the dentist, ask them to assess whether you have bruxism and would benefit from a splint. If that's not the issue, keep searching until you find the answer.

foxydent said:

My understanding as both a dentist and T1 is that the presence of chronic periodontal disease causes inflammation in the body and a generalised increase in HbA1c and increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in particular. Also management of blood glucose in established diabetics is adversely affected and there is evidence that elevated blood glucose levels increase the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiac disease et al. Also being diabetic with periodontal disease it tends to be worse and more difficult to manage than in non diabetics.
Ive never heard about issues with donating blood and oral health. I was told by the blood donation service that anyone on medication, even paracetamol, cannot donate blood.

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Thank you for your perspective as a dentist and T1, that's very helpful. This is more a question for a medical practitioner but do you think there could be a link between slightly elevated serum CRP (C-reactive protein) and chronic periodontal disease?