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Oral health of patients with insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus
Author(s) -
TENOVUO JORMA,
ALANEN PENTTI,
LARJAVA HANNU,
VIIKARI JORMA,
LEHTONEN OLLIPEKKA
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
european journal of oral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.802
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1600-0722
pISSN - 0909-8836
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0722.1986.tb01772.x
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetes mellitus , saliva , streptococcus mutans , insulin , oral cavity , oral health , dentistry , physiology , endocrinology , gastroenterology , biology , bacteria , genetics
— Oral health, the amount of salivary Streptococcus mutans and lactobacilli, and the flow rate, pH and buffer capacity of paraffin‐stimulated whole saliva were analyzed in 35 adult diabetic patients and their age‐ and sex‐matched non‐diabetic, clinically healthy controls. All patients had insulin‐dependent diabetes (IDDM) with a mean (± SD) duration of 14.0 ± 9.1 yr. The prevalence of dental caries was as high in the diabetic group as in the controls but the past caries experience was remarkably lower in those individuals whose diabetes had started at a very early age (= 7 yr). In agreement with the clinical data, the salivary levels of cariogenic microorganisms were of the same order of magnitude in both study groups. However, the relative proportion of S. mutans from the total cultivable aerobic microflora was significantly higher ( P <0.01) in diabetics compared to the controls. The other studied salivary parameters did not differ between the groups. Remarkable individual differences were observed in the correlation between glucose levels of blood and whole saliva among diabetics. In spite of the noncariogenic dietary habits, the adult diabetic patients seem to be at least as susceptible to dental caries as non‐diabetics, probably due to the leakage of glucose from blood into the oral cavity.