The End of Diabetes: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes

We may be able to add one other unfortunate health outcome to the long list of diabetes complications.

A learn about from Japan has shown that adults over the age of 30 with high A1C and fasting blood sugars are likely to have fewer natural teeth remaining.

The study, which was published recently in Diabetology International, examined the health records of over 200,000 patients, making it the largest look yet at the topic of diabetes and tooth loss. The research was organized by Sunstar, a Japanese conglomerate that manufactures oral healthcare products (among many other things). The Sunstar press release is the best place to view the data.

Health experts don’t put a ton of emphasis on the oral health of men and women with diabetes, but it is a real issue. Researchers already knew that people with diabetes are at an increased risk of periodontal (gum) disease and other mouth issues, such as thrush. issues may be caused both by a higher percentage of sugar in the saliva and by microvascular dysfunction affecting the gums and bones.

The Results

People with “diabetic” blood sugars (defined as an A1C above 6.5% or a fasting blood glucose over 125 mg/dL) were nearly twice as likely as healthy adults to have fewer than 24 natural teeth remaining. The result was statistically significant for ages 30-59. Participants with prediabetes were also somewhat more likely to have lost teeth, and those with more severe hyperglycemia lost more teeth.

Smoking, however, was an even bigger contributor to tooth loss than hyperglycemia. Study participants that smoked were about 2.5 instances more likely to have fewer than 24 natural teeth remaining.

But the real doozy was where the two conditions overlapped. Patients with high blood sugars who also smoked had by far the highest likelihood of losing teeth. These patients were over 3.5 times more likely to have fewer than 24 teeth than nonsmoking adults with normal blood sugars. (Adults have 28 teeth, not counting the 4 wisdom teeth which are frequently surgically removed.)

The study does not demonstrate causality, which means that we don’t know if hyperglycemia truly caused tooth loss, or if it was merely correlated with tooth loss. It is very possible, for example, that patients with chronic hyperglycemia were more likely to enjoy a diet that independently leads to tooth decay (for example, one high in sugar-sweetened beverages).

Although the finding may be novel, it shouldn’t be completely surprising. Oral health is strongly linked to overall health, sometimes in ways that researchers don’t completely understand. For example, there is a correlation between cardiovascular risk factors and periodontal diseases that suggests that the different conditions may share some causes.

Takeaways

The persistent high blood sugars associated with diabetes can cause mouth and gum issues that may lead to tooth loss. Smoking, which independently leads to tooth loss, makes the effect even stronger.

While tooth loss cannot be considered as terrifying as kidney or cardiovascular disease, the study provides us with yet another small reason to take the threat of hyperglycemia seriously.

Diabetes Daily

The End of Diabetes: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes