Dental and Gum Disease

You can experience problems with your gums if you have diabetes and your blood sugar is not under control. Diabetes can cause changes to your blood vessels that affect the blood flow to your gums and bone. This weakens your gums and the bones and can get infected, resulting in gum disease.

When your blood sugar is high, your immune system can’t fight off infection very well. Once you have gum disease, it can make it more difficult to keep your blood sugar under control.

Smoking can be another contributing factor to gum disease. While people without diabetes can also have gum issues because of smoking, the risk is much higher in people with diabetes.

Signs and Symptoms

Some of the common warning signs are:

• Red, swollen, tender gums
• Bleeding while brushing and/or flossing your teeth
• Receding gums
• Loose or separating teeth
• Persistent bad breath
• Dentures that no longer fit
• Pus between the teeth and gums
• A change in bite and jaw alignment

If you have any of these symptoms, talk to your dentist.

Types of Gum Disease

• Gingivitis is the mildest form of gum disease resulting in red, swollen and tender gums. It can make your gums bleed easily when you brush and floss your teeth.
• Mild periodontitis occurs if you have gingivitis and do not treat it, which causes the gums to pull away from the teeth and early loss of bone around the teeth. It is important to see a dentist or an oral health specialist to prevent further problems.
• Moderate to advanced periodontitis is the most advanced stage of gum disease, resulting in significant bone loss. It can cause receding gums around teeth and deeper pockets around teeth where the gums have pulled away. This may result in your teeth loosening and needing to be pulled.

Other Oral Health Problems

• Thrush is a fungal infection of the mouth, which happens more often in people with diabetes because of their high blood sugar levels.
• Dry mouth occurs when there is not enough saliva to keep your mouth wet. It can make it more difficult to taste, chew and swallow your food, and can get in the way of talking. In addition, it causes mouth infections and tooth decay. Symptoms include sticky, dry mouth, dry lips, sense of burning in the mouth, rough tongue and mouth sores or infection.

If you have any concerns with your oral health, talk to your doctor or dentist to get a treatment plan. To prevent issues with your mouth and gums, keep your blood sugar levels under control.