Gum disease and diabetes: A strong link

By Free Republic | Created at 2024-11-22 23:08:05 | Updated at 2024-11-23 03:15:50 4 hours ago

Gum disease and diabetes: A strong link
Medical Xpress / University of Berne in Switzerland / European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) ^ | Nov. 14, 2024 | Ernie Mundell

Posted on 11/22/2024 3:06:30 PM PST by ConservativeMind

Periodontal (gum) disease and diabetes are locked in a grim partnership aimed at undermining your health, experts warn.

"Recent research has shown that diabetes is not only a major risk factor for periodontitis but that the relationship between the two conditions is bidirectional, meaning they both influence and exacerbate one another," said Dr. Anton Sculean.

The relationship might even become deadly over time: Moderate or severe cases of gum disease have long been linked to heightened odds of death from heart disease or death from any cause, said Sculean.

Besides its many other complications, diabetes triples the odds for severe gum disease, the EFP said in a news release.

In fact, as a diabetic person loses control of blood sugar levels, gum disease severity rises.

Why is that so? As Sculean and colleagues explained, poorly controlled blood sugar levels can weaken your immune system, which then finds it tougher to fight periodontal infections.

Diabetes can also put the body into a pro-inflammatory state, further exacerbating the damage to gum tissues.

These ill effects also work in the opposite direction: As periodontal disease worsens, it triggers a systemic inflammatory response that makes it even tougher for cells to remain sensitive to insulin, the EFP explained.

Severe gum disease can even be a kind of "tipping point," pushing people into a diabetic state, the experts said.

All of this sets up a "vicious cycle" where gum disease and diabetes work on each other to wreak havoc on blood sugar levels.

On the flip side, treating gum disease could help bring diabetes under control.

Right now, it's estimated that more than 1 billion people worldwide have severe periodontal disease, the EFP said.

(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...

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“Besides its many other complications, diabetes triples the odds for severe gum disease, the EFP said in a news release.”

“On the flip side, treating gum disease could help bring diabetes under control.”

These were two things I have not heard before, and are helpful to understand.

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2 posted on 11/22/2024 3:06:59 PM PST by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)

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