Relationship of Clinical and Microbiological Variables in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Periodontitis

Background: The aim of the study was to analyze how metabolic control of type 1 diabetes is related to clinical and micro- biological periodontal parameters. Material/Methods: The study involved 56 subjects aged from 19 to 50 years divided into 2 groups: healthy subjects (the H group), and diabetic (type 1 diabetes) patients with chronic untreated generalized periodontitis (the DM group). The gly- cosylated hemoglobin value (HbA1c) was determined using the UniCel DxC 800 SYNCHRON System (Beckman Coulter, USA), and the concentration in blood was measured by the turbidimetric immunoinhibition method. A molecular genetic assay (Micro-IDent plus, Germany) was used to detect periodontopathogenic bacteria in plaque samples. Periodontitis was confirmed by clinical and radiological examination. Results: Fusobacterium nucleatum, Capnocytophaga species, and Eikenella corrodens were the most frequently found bacteria in dental plaque samples (77.8%, 66.7%, and 33.4%, respectively), whereas Aggregatibacter actinomy- cetemcomitans was identified 40.7% less frequently in the DM group than in the H group. The strongest rela - tionship was observed between the presence of 2 periodontal pathogens - F. nucleatum and Capnocytophaga spp. - and poorer metabolic control in type 1 diabetes patients (HbA1c) and all clinical parameters of periodon- tal pathology. Conclusions: Periodontal disease was more evident in type 1 diabetic patients, and the prevalence of periodontitis was great- ly increased in subjects with poorer metabolic control.