Oral health

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Hightonel

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi all.
I just want a yes or no answer to these.
1. Do you get a dry mouth?
2. Is oral health talked about in your diabetes review?
3. Did you know diabetes causes oral health problems?
Thank you.
 
Hightonel said:
Hi all.
I just want a yes or no answer to these.
1. Do you get a dry mouth?
2. Is oral health talked about in your diabetes review?
3. Did you know diabetes causes oral health problems?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
A dry mouth can indicate high blood glucose but also some medications can cause a dry mouth
I have never had oral health mentioned at a review
Diabetes can cause various oral /mouth problems as if blood glucose is high then people are more prone to oral thrush or gum infection or tooth decay so visiting your dentist regularly is important.
They will sometime suggest that oral problems point to diabetes even in people who are not diagnosed.
 
1. No
2. No
3. Yes
 
1. No
2. No
3. Yes - I do have a check-up every 6 months, and hygienist every 3 months, and my oral health is fine.
 
1. Yes
2. No
3. No

1. I think my dry mouth overnight is caused by mouth breathing; I've had diabetes for 31 years, but dry mouth only for a couple of years.
3. what "oral health problems" are you referring to? My dentist checks my mouth every six months.
 
Thank you for your reples so far.
I'm only asking because recently i've started with a dry mouth and i've recently gone on Linagliptin.
Evidence suggests that if you take one or more medications for your diabetes, it can cause a dry mouth.
Which got me thinking - i don't think a lot of patients know this.
Have you heard of periodontitis?
 
Periodontitis (per-e-o-don-TIE-tis), also called gum disease, is a serious gum infection that damages the soft tissue around teeth.

My dentist checks my gums at every dental checkup.
 
So what i'm proposing is, would something to support you in your diabetes review at the GP surgery be helpful?
 
Hightonel said:
So what i'm proposing is, would something to support you in your diabetes review at the GP surgery be helpful?
Click to expand...
No, I get the oral health checks at my dentist who knows I have diabetes.
However, the only medication I take is insulin which does not cause dental issues.

The dental issues I am aware of are due to high BG not the medication. High BG causes "glucose leakage" through saliva leading to gum and tooth decay.
 
Hightonel said:
Hi all.
I just want a yes or no answer to these.
1. Do you get a dry mouth?
2. Is oral health talked about in your diabetes review?
3. Did you know diabetes causes oral health problems?
Thank you.
Click to expand...

1.No
2.No
3.Yes. Around the same time I was diagnosed with the Big D, I had been having treatment for gum disease, which is a potential side effect of diabetes due to the high blood sugar. No dentist had mentioned this over the years, and it's never been mentioned by any of the healthcare people. When I went for some treatment and told the hygienist I'd just been diagnosed with T2 diabetes and had lost 3 stone, she said, "The two are linked." I find it baffling that over 2 years of gum disease problems not a single dentists had suggested getting a blood test for diabetes.

I believe that high blood sugar can lead to gum disease, but gum disease can also cause high blood sugar.
 
Hightonel said:
Hi all.
I just want a yes or no answer to these.
1. Do you get a dry mouth?
2. Is oral health talked about in your diabetes review?
3. Did you know diabetes causes oral health problems?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
1. No.
2. No.
But my dentist and dental hygenist know I'm diabetic and always politely remind me that I should try to take good care of my teeth and gums since diabetes and oral health are interwoven.
3. Yes.
But more significantly poor oral health causes additional problems to diabetes management. BG can easily become elevated from poor oral health.
 
Is this still for the same research project as the last questions?

I don’t have a dry mouth. If I took a medication that caused it enough to be a problem I’d just ask if there was an alternative.
 
Hightonel said:
Yes it is the same project as last time. I'm still coming up with different ideas.xx
Click to expand...
Then my answer hasn’t changed.

The best thing you could do to improve type 2 diabetes care is to give all willing patients a decent supply of test strips and a sheet of instructions on how to test and adjust their diet and lifestyle to find what works for them personally. Not tell them they’re going to get a dry mouth if you give them 3 or 4 diabetes medications.
 
I was going to go deeper than that. I was going to try and promote oral health more. I'm sorry if I am repeating myself a lot. I just wanted a broader experience of people elsewhere in the UK.
 
Hightonel said:
I was going to go deeper than that. I was going to try and promote oral health more. I'm sorry if I am repeating myself a lot. I just wanted a broader experience of people elsewhere in the UK.
Click to expand...
But how would you help me find a dentist? It’s all very well saying diabetes can affect your teeth and saying you’ll promote oral health, but how would you actually do that?

I have dental problems but my NHS dentist decided to discharge all the NHS patients and only see private. No dentists in my town are accepting NHS patients whatsoever.
 
It wouldn't be a case of finding you a dentist more so oral health education on the practice nurses part.
 
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