When you have a problem in your mouth, a sore or some
inflammation, it’s hard to not notice. You don’t need a Dentist Spokane Valley
to tell you, there’s something wrong, maybe it’s a symptom of diabetes.
According to the 2014 National Diabetes Statistics Report, 29.1 million people
in the United States suffer from diabetes, a quarter of which, or 8.1 million
are undiagnosed. The risk of death for adults with diabetes is 50% higher than
healthy individuals. And yet, diabetes is one of those tricky diseases that
goes on undiagnosed because the symptoms are usually harmless, everyday
nuisances, until they’re not. You can suffer the worst of diabetes, which is
sometimes fatal, even without any previous indication of the disease.
Your Dentist Can Alert
You
Some people will not bother with regular doctor
check-ups if they don’t feel too sick. But many will go to a dentist, twice a
year, for a cleaning or other treatments because dental problems are difficult
to ignore. If you have bad breath, gum disease, or a mouth sore that won’t go
away, you might not want to even show yourself in public anymore. Oral health
has a huge impact on social interactions. Dentists can spot the earliest
symptoms and the worst symptoms of diabetes. They do not diagnose the disease but
can alert you for diabetic screening. Blood analysis is needed to confirm that
you do indeed have diabetes and how bad it is.
What Your Dentist Sees
Diabetics suffer oral infection that becomes worst
because they have poor immune systems and lower resistance to all infections.
You might have gingivitis, infection and inflammation caused by bacteria
collected in plaque that builds on the surface of teeth and on the gum line.
Diabetics experience thrush and oral candidiasis, a condition that is treated
with antibiotics and special cleaning. Bad breath might be caused by diabetes.
Diabetics often suffer from dry mouth and less saliva means higher bacterial
growth. Uncontrolled diabetics also have high sugar levels in the mouth, which
fungus loves. Dental treatments are more stressful for diabetics, low
resistance and low glucose levels make dentists visits even more difficult on
the body.
Still don’t think diabetes can’t touch you? Diabetes
is more common than most people realize. 86 million or 1 in 3 adults, suffer
from prediabetes. And 90% of those who have prediabetes don’t know about it.
Prediabetes is when the body’s glucose levels are higher than is healthy, but
too low to be diagnosed for diabetes. These people are prone to type 2
diabetes, heart disease and stroke. In 5 years, up to 30% of those with
prediabest progress to type 2 diabetes. Those who are overweight, or even gain
weight because of pregnancy, have increase risks for prediabetes leading to
type 2 diabetes. If caught early, prediabetes for type 2 diabetes is quickly
reversible by converting to a healthy diet and active lifestyle.
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