United States – Making matters worse, your gums deteriorate the longer you have diabetes, according to a new study, but hey, your diabetes medications may actually reverse some of that.
Japanese researchers established the improvement of gum health indicators even in diabetic persons who received medication, as reported by HealthDay.
New Insights
The recent study noted that the authors are suggesting that the enhancement of integration between medical and dental care in the early stages of diabetes can go a long way in preventing the onset as well as the progress of periodontal diseases that affect diabetic patients. She is also an associate professor at Osaka University, where she teaches prevented dentistry.
There has been a previously established connection between periodontal health, heart diseases, and diabetes.
Improved Gum Health Without Dental Care
In the new trial, Kuboniwa and colleagues, 29 participants with type 2 diabetes received two weeks of “intensive” diabetes medications. It is also noteworthy that no patient of them had received any kind of professional dental care during that time period.
Writing in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism more recently, the Japanese team discovered not only that medication helped elevate glycoalbumin — a measure of blood glucose control — but that it also reduced what’s defined as the Periodontal Inflamed Surface Area or PISA, which is a measure of gum disease.
Positive Effects on Overall Health
Likewise, as the gum demonstrated yielded a higher PISA score, that too translated into the overall body positivity, meaning increased blood flow and reduction of neuropathy.
“This study demonstrates that improving periodontal disease in diabetic patients requires not only periodontal treatment but also early diabetes management,” Kuboniwa said in a university news release, as reported by HealthDay.
The new findings “are expected to advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease,” she said.