5 Ways Diabetes Can Undermine Your Oral Health (and How We Can Help)

About 38 million people in the United States live with diabetes, a chronic illness that causes high blood sugar levels. If you’re one of these people, you’re probably aware of how the condition can harm your eyes, feet, nerves, kidneys, heart, and other vital body systems.    

But did you know that diabetes can also undermine your oral health? 

In recognition of National Diabetes Month this November, Dr. Annie Aboulian and our team at Burbank Dental Studio want you to know that there’s a lot you can do to mitigate the oral health risks associated with diabetes — and we’re here to help. 

How diabetes affects oral health

Diabetes affects your body’s ability to produce or use insulin, an essential hormone with one main function: to tightly regulate the amount of sugar (glucose) in your blood. High or poorly controlled blood sugar levels can lead to:

• Chronic, low-grade systemic inflammation
• Weaker white blood cells; reduced immunity
• Measurably high glucose levels in your saliva  

These three disease characteristics can wreak havoc on your oral health. How? Like nearly every oral health problem, it begins with dental plaque — the sticky film that coats your teeth and gums when the normal bacteria in your saliva (both helpful and harmful) interact with the carbohydrates (sugars) you eat.   

Plaque that lingers despite daily brushing and flossing is the starting point for dental decay and gum disease, as well as tooth and jawbone loss.  

With diabetes, your mouth may produce more plaque than what’s typical because your saliva has higher-than-normal sugar levels. At the same time, white blood cells — your body’s main defense against infection, including cavities and gum disease — are weaker and less capable of fighting off harmful oral bacteria. 

And when you have an oral infection, diabetes can prompt a more inflammatory response in your mouth that weakens and destabilizes supporting oral tissues (i.e., gums and bone). 

Oral problems linked to diabetes 

By undermining your dental well-being on multiple fronts, diabetes increases your risk of developing serious oral health problems, including: 

1. Dry mouth

Diabetes can reduce saliva flow, causing a condition called dry mouth. When you don’t have enough saliva to keep your mouth wet, food debris, sugar, acid, and bacteria aren’t washed away as thoroughly. This can set the stage for sores, ulcers, infection, and tooth decay.  

2. Gum disease

Gum disease (gingivitis and periodontitis) is one of the biggest oral health risks associated with diabetes. Increased sugar levels in your saliva, low-grade inflammation, and reduced white blood cell activity play a role, as does the thickening of blood vessels. 

When diabetes makes blood vessels thicker, it slows the flow of nutrients to — and the removal of waste products from — your body tissues. In your mouth, this combination of factors makes it much harder to fight off the infection that causes gum disease. 

3. Tooth decay 

Diabetes makes tooth decay more likely in the same way it elevates gum disease risk: via increased plaque production and diminished infection-fighting power. If you also develop dry mouth, your cavity risk increases further.

4. Slow healing

The inflammatory nature of diabetes, coupled with the way the disease impairs immune system function, can slow oral tissue healing. 

This can create problems in many scenarios, including if you develop a painful oral ulcer with dry mouth, or if slow healing after needed dental work — like a tooth extraction — leads to complications like dry socket.  

Slow-healing oral tissues can also limit your restorative options for missing teeth, making dental implants out of reach.  

5. Fungal infection

A fungal infection called thrush is another oral health effect of diabetes, especially in people who frequently take antibiotics to fight repeated infection. This fungus — which causes burning sensations and white patches on the tongue and inner cheeks — thrives on high glucose levels in saliva. 

Simple steps to better oral health

There’s a lot you can do to reduce your risk of diabetes-related oral health problems, starting with following your diabetes care plan: Take your medication and monitor your blood glucose levels as directed, establish healthy eating patterns, get more exercise, manage your stressors, and if necessary, lose weight.  

Blood sugar control is the most important step for avoiding diabetes complications, but you should also:

• Let Dr. Annie and our team know that you have diabetes
• Brush your teeth twice daily with fluoride toothpaste
• Floss in between your teeth at least once a day
• Come in twice a year for a teeth cleaning and exam  
• Schedule extra visits as needed (i.e., bleeding gums)

And finally, if you’re a smoker, quit — smoking worsens both diabetes and gum disease. 

Are you ready to take charge of your oral health? We can help. Call Burbank Dental Studio in Burbank, California, today, or click online to request an appointment at your convenience.