Do Diabetics' Teeth face More Problems?
The opposite of having too much sugar in your blood is having too little and that is known as hypoglycemia.
Both conditions are regulated in healthy people by insulin and herein lies the diabetic's difficulty - the body's automatic production of insulin to control blood glucose levels. Both conditions will have serious consequences.
Too much sugar in the blood could lead to complaints with the kidneys, the heart, the eyes and other organs, whereas too little glucose in the blood might result in fits and black-outs.
Tooth and gum disease is frequent as are other health concerns. Reasons that play a part in tooth and gum disease are age, heredity, smoking and oral hygiene, but the diabetic who is often hyperglycemic has a higher probability of developing a dental infection.
The diabetic is more prone to infection of any kind and one of the most common is periodontitis, which affects the teeth, the jaw bones and the gums.
One of the visible symptoms of periodontitis is receding gums, which makes the teeth look unusually large, but also exposes the roots of the teeth to the air and food, causing sensitive teeth.
Therefore, diabetics must make certain that they make a particular effort to visit their dentist at least twice a year, because periodontitis can result in the complete loss of one's teeth.
The extra glucose in the blood provides extra food for germs, so they reproduce far more quickly than normal. This rapid build up of bacteria produces red, swollen gums.
One of the first signs of gum disease is often bleeding. If your gums begin to bleed when you brush your teeth, book an early appointment with your dentist.
Diabetics, along with those who have an impaired immune system, run a much higher risk of developing periodontitis and so losing all their teeth, if it is left untreated.
Diabetics who have periodontitis are not condemned to lose all their teeth, but it does have to be noticed and treated early because there are several ways that a dentist can deal with the infection.
One of the best tactics is to control your blood glucose levels in the first case. This has to be attained in conjuction with your GP, but it will usually include proper dieting, exercise and taking insulin or a surrogate. Not smoking and maintaining your correct weight are also imperative.
Not all diabetics need to take insulin. There is far more understood about diabetes, diet, exercise and their interaction these days. Some diabetics can avoid taking insulin and all the side effects that that would normally entail by not eating sugary or starchy food.
The same effect can be had by eating low-calorie meals often during the day instead of at two or three large meals and by monitoring blood-sugar levels.
This is the best way of avoiding the dental hardship that diabetics may experience.
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