The main link between oral health and diabetes is high blood sugar. If you don’t manage your blood sugar properly, you are more likely to have oral health problems. Besides, your oral health can have several effects on how you manage diabetes. Poor oral health can worse your diabetic condition, leading to severe consequences.
Oral Health and Diabetes
Uncontrolled diabetes leads to weakening your white blood cells— the body’s main defense against infections. This leaves areas like your mouth highly vulnerable to bacterial infections. Various studies have shown that diabetes and oral health correlate, and they can affect each other. For example, by lowering your blood sugar levels, you will not only be putting diabetes under control but also preventing oral health problems. Similarly, high blood sugar levels will worsen a diabetic condition and impact your oral health negatively.
People with diabetes have a higher risk of suffering oral conditions like dry mouth, gum inflammation, and fungal infections. First, diabetic people have a high risk of developing dry mouth because diabetes reduces saliva production. This not only leads to a dry mouth but also ulcers, soreness, and infections such as tooth decay. In some cases, patients can also experience bleeding gums. This occurs when the mouth becomes dehydrated and exposes blood vessels that burst open when touched aggressively.
Diabetes and Gum Disease
Diabetic people also risk suffering from gum inflammation or gingivitis. This is because diabetes causes the thickening of blood vessels, slowing down the flow of nutrients to and from the tissues in your mouth. This makes your body lose its ability to fight off infections like gum inflammations strongly. Such conditions take advantage of your weakened immune system and cause damage to your oral health. To avoid such occurrences, you need to maintain a good oral health and keep your blood sugar levels down.
