Diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease in an Irish population

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Abstract
The prevalence of periodontitis was studied in a population of 157 insulin dependent diabetes mellitus patients aged 8-78 years attending the outpatients diabetic clinic of a large general hospital in Cork, Ireland. Every third diabetic patient attending the clinic was selected for examination. The dental parameters measured were plaque index (PI), gingivitis index (GI), periodontal pocket depth (PD) and periodontal attachment loss (PAL). Diabetic control was measured by estimating percentage haemoglobin glycolysation (% Hb Alc) known duration of diabetes (KDD) and insulin dependence. It was found that none of the diabetic measurements showed any consistent pattern in relation to any of the periodontal measurements. The findings are in agreement with other studies which suggest that no significant correlation between diabetic parameters and periodontal disease can be demonstrated. When the diabetic patient suffered periodontitis it was due to factors (such as genetic predisposition) other than impaired glucose metabolism.