Endocrine disorders and hormonal disorders can cause gingival disorders directly, or they can affect wound healing mechanisms by impairing tissue response and secondarily affect the course of gingival disorders.
Especially diabetes (uncontrolled) causes many serious long-term conditions. These are conditions that occur as a result of affecting wound healing mechanisms and affecting the person’s response to infections.
Cracks in the corners of the lips, increased tendency to infection, dry mouth, burning of the tongue and tissues, decreased saliva flow, changes in oral flora (especially increased fungal content), increased tooth decay, gum disease, abscess problems, tooth loss, bleeding, bad breath, delayed or abnormal wound healing. Of course, all these situations will cause the general condition of the diabetic patient to be troubled, as well as a vicious cycle that makes it difficult to solve oral and dental problems in uncontrolled diabetes.
In summary, while diabetes is a risk factor for gingival disease, gingival disease has been recognised as a complication of diabetes. It is an intertwined cause and effect relationship.
What should be done when these two closely related diseases are encountered?
A detailed oral examination of the diabetic patient should be performed and foci of infection and their treatment should be determined rapidly. Afterwards, it is imperative to refer the patient to the doctor who follows the patient for diabetes with a consultation explaining the planned procedures before starting treatment. Co-operation with the medical doctor will ensure that the patient’s diabetes is under control while cleaning the infections in the mouth. Because we know that foci of infection in the mouth will definitely leave diabetes out of control.
Like any other disease, if diabetes is under control, there is no dental treatment that cannot be done to a diabetic patient. The most important rule is that the patient-dentist-medicine should work in co-operation, and the patient should follow the control periods and home care rules without neglecting. Recommendations for diabetic patients: They should never neglect routine general medical and dental check-ups. If they do not neglect the routine treatment and control periods that dentists will establish for them, both their general health and oral and dental health will be secured.
