Association between type 1 diabetes and periodontal health

We assessed periodontal status in patients with type 1 diabetes and healthy individuals in relation to their glycemic control, smoking and inflammatory biomarkers.

Periodontal status was examined in 107 patients with diabetes and 40 controls, using Oral Hygiene Index (OHI), Community Periodontal Index (CPI) and tooth number. CPI values of 0-2 and 3-4 were classified as non-periodontitis and periodontitis, respectively. Blood samples were analyzed for glucose, HbA1c, CRP, fibrinogen, interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α).

Periodontitis was found in 15.0% of the controls and 57.9% of diabetic patients, including 40.0% of these with good metabolic control (GMC) and 59.5% of those with poor metabolic control (PMC). Severe periodontitis was more frequent in the PMC than in the GMC group and in the controls (26.0% vs. 20.0% vs. 5.0%). The PMC patients had lower number of sextants with CPI 0 and higher number of sextants with CPI 3 and CPI 4 as well as lower tooth number in comparison with the controls. The patients with periodontitis had higher TNF-α (p<0.001) and OHI (p<0.001) than the patients without periodontitis. The number of sextants with CPI 0 correlated negatively with fibrinogen and TNF-α levels, whereas the number of sextants with CPI 3 correlated positively with TNF-α and fasting glucose level.

There is good evidence that type 1 diabetes increases the risk of periodontal disease. Our results suggest that poor metabolic control of diabetes together with smoking and inadequate oral hygiene increase the risk of severe periodontal destruction in patients with type 1 diabetes.