Poor Glycemic Control Increases Dental Risk in a Sri Lankan Population

Introduction: The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of diabetes-related factors on the dental disease outcomes of diabetes patients in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. Materials and Methods: Dental data were collected from 80 type-2-diabetic individuals. A dental risk score was calculated based on the frequency of dental outcomes observed and categorized as low risk (<= 3 dental outcomes) and high risk (>3 dental outcomes). Results: In this cohort of men and women with type 2 diabetes, there was a high frequency of periodontal related outcomes, including missing teeth (70%), gingival recessions (40%), tooth mobility (41%), and bleeding (20%). Thirty-nine (39%) of participants had high dental risk, while forty-nine (61%) had low risk. Conclusions: After controlling for age, participants with higher capillary blood glucose levels had 3-fold greater odds of a high dental risk score (OR = 2.93, 95%CI = 1.13, 7.61). We found that poor glycemic control indicated by elevated capillary blood glucose was associated with increased dental risk.