Assessing Patients' Risk for Diabetes and Its Relationship to Gingival Disease

Presenter Information

Nicole A. DeCourcy, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Location

CSU Ballroom

Start Date

27-4-2009 1:00 PM

End Date

27-4-2009 3:00 PM

Student's Major

Dental Hygiene

Student's College

Allied Health and Nursing

Mentor's Name

Angela Monson

Mentor's Department

Dental Hygiene

Mentor's College

Allied Health and Nursing

Description

The prevalence of diabetes is increasing rapidly, and current research states periodontal disease may be a risk factor for diabetes. The purposes of this study were to determine: 1) the risk for diabetes among patients at a Midwest state university dental clinic, and 2) the relationship between risk level for diabetes and presence of gingival disease. Surveys were distributed to patients seen by senior students at Minnesota State University (MSU), Mankato dental hygiene clinic (N=70). The typical participant was male, 33 years old, exercised 1-2 times per week, and had a BMI of 27.3. Thirty percent of participants were obese, and an additional 34.3% were overweight. Using the American Diabetes Association Diabetes Risk Test, 21.4% of participants scored at high risk for diabetes. Independent t tests revealed no significant differences between patients at high and low risk for diabetes in number of periodontal pockets (p=.05) or in gingival inflammation (p=.79). This study suggests that the number of periodontal pockets and gingival inflammation are not correlated to the diabetes risk test score. Further research is needed to investigate if the presence of gingival pockets or gingival inflammation is a significant risk factor for diabetes. Dental hygienists would be excellent candidates to screen the public for the risk of diabetes.