Dentistry and Diabetes: The Influence of Diabetes in Oral Diseases and Dental Treatments

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin that it produces. The number of people with diabetes is increasing. These trends highlight the urgency for a better understanding of diabetes as well as for improving the dental care of patients with diabetes. Patients with diabetes have increased frequency of periodontitis, tooth loss, and xerostomia, and diabetes has been considered a risk condition for oral surgery and dental implants with the fact that it is associated with delayed wound healing, prevalence of microvascular disease, and impaired response to infection. (article extract)