Diabetes
Diabetes and Your Body
You’ve undoubtedly heard of diabetes, but do you know how it really affects your body? We all hear about how it is connected to diet and that it is linked in sugar, but why? Diabetes is a metabolic disorder. A person with this condition has high blood glucose, otherwise known as blood sugar. This can happen for a couple reasons. Usually it’s either because your body doesn’t produce enough insulin or because the cells in your body don’t respond properly to insulin. It could even be both.
However, the disease can also affect your mouth. Roughly 50% of people in the United States have some level of gingivitis. Among them, most don’t even know. Gum disease at any level increases your risk of heart attacks, strokes, and a whole slew of other diseases. If you are diabetic, you are already at an increased risk of periodontal disease.
Connecting Diabetes to Your Mouth
Studies have linked gum disease to diabetes in a number of different ways. Now that you know how this metabolic disorder can affect your body, here are a few ways that gum disease and other oral conditions are linked to it:
- Type 2 diabetes, if uncontrolled, puts you at a higher risk for gum disease.
- Gum disease is considered a complication of the disease.
- Severe periodontal disease leads to an increase in blood sugar.
- Diabetics are weak against bacteria that invade the gums.
- Diabetes medications can cause dry mouth, leaving less saliva to wash away germs and acids.
- Uncontrolled diabetes causes slower healing and increases the risk of infection.
Whether you already have diabetes or are concerned about being at-risk, maintaining healthy teeth and gums is a great way to reduce the effects that this disorder can have on the rest of your body. No matter what, you need to maintain your oral health, and we have specialists that can help you do just that. Contact us now to see what we can do for you!
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- 11233 Shadow Creek Pkwy #120, Pearland, TX 77584
- (281) 741-5247
- Mon - Fri 8:30am - 5:00 pm
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