National Diabetes Awareness Month takes place each November and is designed to focus the nation’s attention on the issues surrounding diabetes and the many people who are impacted by the disease.
Diabetes is a disease that can affect the whole body, including your mouth. Dental care is particularly important for people with diabetes because they face a higher than normal risk of oral health problems due to poorly controlled blood sugars. The less well controlled the blood sugar, the more likely oral health problems will arise.
These problems include:
Dry mouth
Gum inflammation
Poor healing of oral tissues
Burning mouth an/or tongue
The good news is that by practicing good dental care and oral hygiene habits, people whose diabetes is well controlled have no more tooth decay or periodontal disease than people without diabetes.
