Diabetes: The Periodontal Saga
Julia Hanf - juliahanf@gmail.com
Few modern-day diseases are as diverse in the problems they pose as diabetes. While the origins of the disease are yet shrouded by mystery, the complications that occur as a result of poorly managed diabetes are multifarious making it ever more difficult to keep track of this disease and all it is capable of. And one of these many complications is periodontal disease. Periodontal disease, as the name suggests occurs around your teeth as a bacterial infection which afflicts your gums and the bone which supports your teeth, weakening and eventually destroying them. However, the effects of periodontal disease don't just end at your teeth diabetes and periodontal disease play in a vicious cycle, each one compounding the other and making diabetes management on a whole, a tough and challenging process.
Periodontal disease begins when the plaque which coats your teeth develop bacteria, which in turn cause your gums to become inflamed. This can occur in a single tooth, or in all your teeth; however, the high blood glucose levels which diabetes imposes does put you at a higher risk of contracting this disease. This is because the impaired circulation of blood in your body, brought about by the diabetes induced thickening of veins, reduces the supply of oxygen and nutrients to your teeth, making them more vulnerable to disease. Also, if your diabetes is mismanaged, the amount of glucose in your blood will be a lot higher than that of a non-diabetic. This sugar is a fertile breeding ground for bacteria, which then herald periodontal disease.
Periodontal disease develops in stages, growing more destructive as it is allowed to proceed unchecked. The first manifestation is in the form of Gingivitis, when your gums become red and swollen on account of the bacterial infection. You may also find instances when your gums bleed when you brush or floss, which is yet another result of the infection. This stage can be easily overcome by thoroughly brushing and flossing your teeth, and follow-up cleaning by your dentist. Failure to do so, will lead the disease to progress to its next stage, namely periodontitis.
At the second phase, the plaque on your teeth grows harder and denser and accumulates under your gums, pulling them away from your teeth. This creates gaps, or pockets of infection that may even destroy the bone anchoring your teeth, leading to tooth loss. The progression from Gingivitis to periodontitis is barely imperceptible and waiting for pain and loose teeth will mean that you have already let this disease advance to its more mature phase. And so, if you do find that your inflammation and bleeding do not subside after meticulous cleaning, it is advisable you visit a periodontist for specialized treatment.
Your dentist, or periodontist as the case may be, will attempt to treat this disease by prying the plaque and infected tissue off your gums and teeth and letting them heal, so that the healthy gum tissue can grow back and cover the pockets. Make sure you follow up this treatment by being meticulous about brushing and flossing regularly, so that the disease does not rebound. If this treatment does prove ineffective, your dentist might have to seek recourse to surgery to treat your gums and extract the disease, so that you don't have to have your infected tooth extracted to secure the remainder of your pearly whites.
As a victim of diabetes, it is essential you discuss your treatment and diabetes control with your dentist, as your insulin dosage and meal schedule may need to be altered as per your periodontal treatment. A more foolproof course of action would be to have your physician talk to your dentist prior to your treatment to ensure that the treatment of one condition does not interfere with that of the other. Your dentist may also recommend that you postpone your periodontal treatment in case your diabetes is poorly managed as it may cause certain challenging complications.
The healing process that follows periodontal treatment may be elongated and delayed in case of diabetics on account of the poor blood circulation. Poor diabetes management may make the process even more tedious, thus making it even more important that you stick to your oral hygiene regime to avoid any complications from the gingivitis phase. Diabetes can be a dangerous foe to harbor if you don't pay attention to keeping your condition under your control however, terrific diabetes management also means that you may never have to face these untoward consequences. If you still haven't taken stringent measures to curb your diabetes, it's time to do that right now! Take control of your diabetes today and tomorrow will be a brighter and a much healthier day!
Julia Hanf is the author of the book How To Play the Diabetes Diet Game and Win. Through a real life emergency Julia discovered how to live diabetes free. Visit Your Diabetes Cure at http://www.yourdiabetescure.com and learn more about how you can prevent diabetes.
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