Diabetes can be a debilitating disease at the best of times, though managed properly, most people with diabetes can live relatively full lives. However, diabetes affects your entire body in ways you might not necessarily think of. This is why, if you’re diagnosed with diabetes (of any type), you need to maintain good health and follow your physician’s recommendations.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is the overproduction (Type 2) or underproduction (Type 1) of insulin by the kidneys. This means that, over time, your kidneys can stop working properly and you are at higher risk of heart disease. Though there is no ‘cure’ for diabetes, Type 1 can be managed through insulin injections, while Type 2 can be managed with healthy eating and regular exercise.
What Does Diabetes Do To Your Teeth?
Diabetes has a range of effects on your body, including in your mouth. If you have been recently diagnosed with diabetes, it would be a good idea to let your Camden dentist know, so that this change can be recorded, and its effects observed over time.
The greatest impact of diabetes on your dental health is the effect that it has on your saliva and salivary glands. The free flow of saliva in the mouth is an important protection method for your body against dental cavities. Diabetes – and some of the medicines used in its treatment – can decrease the amount of saliva that your body produces, therefore increasing your risk of dental cavities, gum disease and other issues.
Another consequence of diabetes on your teeth may be that, due to the increase in glucose in your saliva, or the decreasing of available saliva, your teeth may become more susceptible to cavities sooner in life, meaning that you may need dental veneers faster than a person who does not suffer from the effects of diabetes.
When To See A Dentist & How They Can Offer Ongoing Support
If you do have diabetes, it’s critical that you maintain a healthy lifestyle in order to stave off the effects of the disease on your body and your mouth is just as important in that fight as any other organ.
If, after being diagnosed, you start to experience more tooth pain or discomfort, or you’re noticing your gums are bleeding, or you start to experience any other mouth pain, it’s critical that you get yourself to an emergency dentist as fast as you can. They, with the help of a dental hygienist will be able to assess your mouth and assess how your diabetes is affecting your oral health.
One of the highest-risk complications when it comes to oral health from diabetes is gum disease. The higher levels of glucose in your blood and saliva mean that gum disease progresses faster from mild to severe. Gum disease can lead to tooth loss in extreme cases.
If you’re suffering from diabetes, it is critical that you get your teeth checked routinely, as the disease can wear heavily on your teeth and gums, given its effects on your salivary glands and saliva. Given that diabetes compromises your oral health, you may need to get your teeth replaced by dental veneers at an earlier stage in life.
If this is the case, make sure you talk to your healthcare provider and/or healthcare insurance provider about coverage for dental veneers, and check which Camden dentists offer Afterpay dental – allowing you to make payment instalments on the high cost of dental implants.
Given the complicated nature of diabetes and its effects on oral health, it is even more important that you follow the dietary suggestions of the medical professionals that are managing your case. You need to maintain a healthy lifestyle in as many ways as possible. Cutting out high-sugar foods will not only help your diabetes, it will also help your teeth adjust to the effects of the condition on your mouth.
Contact Aesthetic Dental & Denture Clinic today to see how we can help improve your dental health.
