Association between dental caries indicators and serum glycated hemoglobin-levels among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

This study aimed to investigate the association between dental caries (DC) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) among patients with type 2 DM (T2DM). A health center-based cross-sectional study was conducted comprising 91 eligible patients with T2DM (21 males and 70 females) with a mean age (± standard deviation) of 61.49 ± 9.71 years. A structured interview, screening for DM-related factors, and oral examination were performed. Serum HbA1c levels were used as an index for glycemic control. A comparison between patients with controlled T2DM, i.e., HbA1c ≤7.0% (n = 46), and uncontrolled T2DM, i.e., HbA1c >7.0% (n = 45), showed significant differences in mean values of decayed teeth (DT) (P = 0.045); missing teeth (P = 0.002); and decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index (P < 0.001). Results of multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the number of DT was significantly correlated with serum HbA1c levels (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.173 to 0.972, P = 0.005). Furthermore, DMFT index values and serum HbA1c levels (95% CI 0.532 to 1.658, P < 0.001) showed a significant association. This study provides substantial evidence on the association between DC indicators and serum HbA1c levels. PMID: 31217384 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Journal of oral science - Category: Dentistry Tags: J Oral Sci Source Type: research