In today’s savvy world, most people are aspiring to live their healthiest life. These ambitions are comprehensive and should include the body, mind, and the mouth!
Recent studies report that almost 50% of the U.S. adult population has some form of periodontal disease. Whether it’s mild, moderate, or severe, one out of every two adults over the age of thirty is suffering from gingival bacterial infection, which causes bleeding gums, loose teeth, offensive odors, and a great deal of discomfort.
It’s widely reported that people with diabetes are one of the leading groups that are affected by gum disease. Consequently, individuals with diabetes have multiple co-morbidities that correlate to the issue of their high blood sugar. But in the case of periodontal disease, the cause and effect is interlinked.
People with diabetes are at increased risk of infection and bacterial growth because of their blood sugar levels, and they also are at higher risk for high blood sugar because of the periodontal disease. Researchers suggest that periodontal disease increases high blood sugar, making individuals with uncontrolled diabetes prone to multiple infections and complications of their condition.
If you have any form of gum discomfort, bleeding or bad breath, it’s important to consult with your dentists about getting your conditions treated right away. Often, just getting a deep scaling, which is a cleaning that goes a little deeper under the gum line, will correct mild to moderate periodontal disease. Loose teeth and infection in your gingival tissues, are easily treated by a periodontal specialist, as they can provide you with options to get your mouth healthy again. These include deep scaling’s, gingival grafts, laser treatment, and pocket reduction procedures.
There are things that you can do to prevent gum disease. The obvious is brushing your teeth regularly. That means a thorough two-minute brushing routine that gently cleans each surface of all of your teeth. The importance of flossing cannot be stressed enough. Dentists and Hygienist convey this message regularly to their patients, but unfortunately, in our fast-paced world, many people find it too time-consuming to floss daily, but in reality, it only takes a minute to floss your teeth. When this step is avoided, food and bacteria harbor in the interproximal space between teeth, and that’s where the periodontal infection begins. Flossing twice a day is ideal, and seeing your dentist, or hygienist on a regularly scheduled basis is vital to keeping your gums healthy.
If you have diabetes, you need to be extra cautious about brushing and flossing, as well as keeping your blood sugar levels under control. The normal fasting blood sugar levels are anywhere from 70-99 mg/dl. The normal A1C, which measures the blood glucose level, should be below 5.7%. Diabetics should consult with their Primary Care physician, or endocrinologist to keep their levels at the lowest rate possible for them personally. Depending on the type and stage, this is usually accomplished through dietary changes, exercise, and medications, or injections.
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