Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
[Diabetes as a risk factor for tooth loss in the geriatric population]
C Sampedro Abascal1, J J Segura Egea, J Lapetra Peralta
1Centro de Salud San Pablo, Sevilla.
Objective:
A comparative study of the level and type of tooth loss, and the use of dental prostheses, was performed on one diabetic sample and another non-diabetic one, taken from elderly people receiving health care at the San Pablo Health Centre, Sevilla, in order to assess the repercussion of diabetes on tooth loss.
Design:
A descriptive and observational study of a crossover type.
Setting:
Primary care. San Pablo Health Centre, Sevilla.
Patients And Other Participants:
Patients aged > 65 requesting health care for any reason at our PC clinic during March-April 1995.
Measurements And Main Results:
98 patients, 42 diabetics and 56 non-diabetics, were studied. The percentage of toothlessness was significantly greater in diabetic patients than in non-diabetic ones. None of the patients had kept all their teeth. 52.4% of the diabetic patients wore complete prostheses, percentage which went down to 25% in non-diabetics. 57.1% of diabetics and 44.6% of non-diabetics wore some type of prosthesis.
Conclusions:
We can consider diabetes as a risk factor in tooth loss among the elderly. Applying buco-dental hygiene measures from the diagnosis of diabetes, along with regular dental check-ups, might significantly lessen diabetics' dental loss over their lives. Opening the elderly person's mouth, whether he/she is diabetic or not, and evaluating oral mucus and dental structure, should be a investigative procedure in primary care.
More Related Videos
04:36An Assay to Detect Protection of the Retinal Vasculature from Diabetes-Related Death in Mice
Published on: January 12, 2024
07:22Glycemic Impact on Knee Osteoarthritis Symptoms on Physical, Radiographic, and Inflammatory Markers among Individuals Aged 50 and Over with Diabetes
Published on: March 7, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Teeth
In the bud stage, the tooth germ (an aggregation of cells) starts to form in the developing jawbone. During the cap stage, the tooth germ differentiates into enamel organ, dental papilla, and dental sac, which will later develop into the tooth's enamel, dentin and...
Diabetes Mellitus: Type 2 and Gestational
Diabetes: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Complications
Type II Diabetes Mellitus III: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnosis
Complications of Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetic Neuropathy