Know how diabetes changes your healthy smile — Diabetes and oral health

If you have diabetes, then it will affect all the parts of your body. Your mouth will be highly affected due to uncontrolled diabetes. Diabetes and oral health are highly linked by high blood sugar.

All the foods we eat are converted into sugar and used as energy with the help of insulin. In type 1 diabetes your pancreas won’t be able to produce enough insulin and in type 2 diabetes, your body stops responding to insulin. In both cases, the result will be a high level of blood sugar.

Oral Complications of Diabetes:

Higher the blood sugar level, the higher the risk of getting complications due to it. Some of the common oral complications of diabetes are,

Tooth decay:

Normally there will be a lot of bacterias present in your mouth. High blood sugar may lead to increased sugar in saliva and dry mouth. This may lead to plaque and cavities.

Dry mouth:

Many people with diabetes will experience dry mouth, which is also considered as an important early sign of diabetes. Dry mouth is caused when there is a lack of saliva which may result in tooth decay, gum disease, and high levels of discomfort.

Periodontal disease:

Periodontal is also known as gum disease. It is very common in people with high blood sugar levels. It will affect the bone which holds the teeth with the jaw.

Oral Fungal infections:

Oral thrush is a fungal infection that is caused due to diabetes. This is mainly due to the overgrowth of yeast in your mouth. Conditions like dry mouth, a high amount of sugar in saliva, which is caused due to diabetes will result in oral thrush. Red or white patches will be formed in your mouth which may cause pain and ulcers. Burning mouth is also caused by oral thrush.

Symptoms:

Normally untreated diabetes will first give symptoms before affecting the body. Important symptoms to be noticed are,

• Difficulty in tasting foods.
• Experiencing infections in the mouth more often.
• The feeling of dry mouth.
• Red, swollen, bleeding gums.
• Feeling like a bad breath.

Prevention and protection:

Since diabetes is incurable, it can be managed properly for a healthy life. Oral health can be achieved only when the blood sugar is under control. Some important things to remember for avoiding oral complications of diabetes are

• Take control of your blood sugar by proper diet, exercise, and medications.
• Clean your teeth twice a day.
• Floss your teeth at least once a day.
• Avoid dry mouth by drinking lots of water
• If you smoke — quit smoking.
• Always watch for any early signs of gum diseases due to diabetes
• Have a regular dentist appointment.

Prevention is always better than cure. So be cautious about your oral health and diabetes control for a healthy and happy smile.

Originally published at https://diabetes.cankado.com on August 23, 2020.