Mastication Inefficiency…

Due to lack or diminished occlusal support,

negatively affects the controlling blood glucose levels

in patients with type 2 diabetes

If you’re a health care provider treating people with Type 2 diabetes (T2D), UB researcher Mehmet A. Eskan has this suggestion for you: check your patients’ teeth.

In a study published April 14 in PLOS ONE, Eskan, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Periodontics and Endodontics, School of Dental Medicine, demonstrates that patients with T2D who have full chewing function have a blood glucose level that is significantly lower than patients whose ability to chew effectively is impaired.

The retrospective study looked at data gathered from 94 patients with T2D who had been seen at an outpatient clinic in a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. The patients were divided into two groups. The first group included patients who had good “occlusal function” — enough teeth placed properly and making contact in such a way that a person can chew their food well. That group’s blood glucose level was 7.48. The second group couldn’t chew well, if at all, because they were lacking some or all of those teeth; their blood glucose level was almost 2% higher, at 9.42.

Learn about:

• Edentulism and its systemic effect
• Appreciation of periodontal ligament
• Appreciation of teeth and their impact on the satiety center in the hypothalamus
• Correlation of teething and blood glucose level
• The role of chewing function in the controlling of blood glucose level.
• An oral examination should be considered in patients with type 2 diabetes

UB Faculty:

Dr. Mehmet A. Eskan, clinical assistant professor, Department of Periodontics and Endodontics; Diplomate, American Board of Periodontology