Examination of the presence of periodontitis and gingivitis in rats with induced diabetes mellitus

Introduction Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a state of chronic hyperglycemia that is a predisposing factor to caries, gingivitis, inflammation of periodontium, oral candidiasis, xerostomia and many other diseases of the oral cavity. Inflammation of the supporting tissue of the tooth is a chronic disease that destroys the supporting structure of the tooth, i.e. periodontal ligament and alveolar bone. The aim of this study was to examine using histological analysis the presence of periodontitis and gingivitis in rats with experimentally induced DM that were sacrificed after 14 and 30 days. Material and methods The research was conducted on 42 Wistar rats. DM in experimental animals was induced by the use of Alloxan intraperitoneally. The first group (Exp_14) consisted of 16 rats in which DM was induced and sacrificed after 14 days, the second group (Exp_30) consisted of 16 rats in which DM was induced and they were sacrificed after 30 days, while the control consisted of 10 healthy rats. Results Periodontitis and gingivitis in the first group of rats (Exp_14) were determined in 54.5% of cases, while in the second group (Exp_30) in 88% of cases. In the control group no case of periodontitis and gingivitis was recorded. A highly statistically significant difference was found between the examined groups (Chi-square = 14.685; p < 0.001). Conclusion In the group of rats with experimentally induced DM that were sacrificed after 30 days, a significantly higher incidence of periodontitis and gingivitis was found compared to the group of rats that were sacrificed after 14 days.