Blog Entries With Tag: Columbia University College of Dental Medicine

Recently I came across an article from researchers at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine in New York City. They have created a simple equation, involving the space between teeth and gums and the number of missing teeth, that helps dentists identify people who have early stages of Type 2 diabetes.

The researchers found that in this at-risk dental population, a simple algorithm composed of only two dental parameters (number of missing teeth and percentage of deep periodontal pockets) was effective in identifying patients with unrecognized pre-diabetes or diabetes. The addition of the point-of-care A1c test was of significant value, further improving the performance of this algorithm.
 

I go to the dentist every 9 months for a check-up and cleaning.  It used to be every 6 months - but my medical plan at work has cut back on some of the services we had - but still - to have 80-100% coverage for keeping my pearly whites (well - they are now looking abit yellow with age) is great!  I've been lucky so far since starting to work full time at 19 - that medical coverage from my employer at work has enabled me to keep my gums/teeth in good state.  Many people don't know that problems with your gums can lead to other health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke, even Alzheimer's disease.

For folks like myself with diabetes we sometimes tend to be prone to tooth and gum problems when our blood glucose (BG) stays high or our overall health isn't good.  If high BG's persist, it can actually eventually cause you to even lose your teeth believe it or not.  Scary stuff !!  Now, if you don't have medical coverage at work – you can try calling up your local university that may have a free or affordable dental clinic .  I know here in Montreal, McGill University has teamed up with a local organisation that provides free dental work (note this last link works - but you will have to click on "Open this content in a new window" - in order to view the article - sorry for the extra step - some websites don't like Diabetes1.org for one reason or another accessing them).