Karabin has diagnosed several cases of diabetes from her dentist's chair. "When I see a patient with multiple abscesses in their mouth ... I immediately think 'diabetes.' I will send that patient for a glucose tolerance test." Nearly one-third of people with diabetes are unaware that they have it, and dentists can play a big role in diagnosing these patients, Genco says.
Diabetes and gum disease appear to influence each other in a vicious circle. Infections of any kind, including gum disease, cause the body to produce proteins called cytokines, which increase insulin resistance and make blood sugar more difficult to control, Karabin says. Conversely, uncontrolled diabetes impairs the body's healing mechanism, which makes it harder to control gum disease, Cram says
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