Association of occlusal support with type 2 diabetes: A community-based study

Abstract

Occlusal support was proved to be associated with type 2 diabetes. Our aim was to investigate the association between the Eichner index and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. We included 715 participants with oral health examinations in the Shanghai Aging Study. The occlusal support status was determined by the number of functional occlusal support areas and Eichner index classifications. Those with fasting plasma glucose ≥126 mg/dL and/or hemoglobin A1c ≥6.5% and/or current medications for type 2 diabetes with relevant medical history were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Multiple logistic regression models were used to analyze the relationship between occlusal support status and type 2 diabetes. The average age of 715 participants was 73.74 ± 6.49 years old. There were 84 diabetics with 1.71 occlusal supporting areas on average. Seven hundred and fifteen participants were divided into 3 groups according to Eichner classifications: Eichner group A with 4 occlusal functional areas, Eichner group B with 1-3 occlusal functional areas or 0 area with anterior occlusal contact, and Eichner group C with no functional occlusal contact. Blood glucose level was significantly lower in participants of Eichner group A compared to those in group B or C. The ordinal logistic regression showed more occlusal supporting areas were significantly associated with less type 2 diabetes cases with an Odds Ratio(OR) of 0.253(95%CI 0.108-0.594) after adjusting covariates. Participants in Eichner group A had a significantly much lower OR of 0.078 for type 2 diabetes (95%CI 0.009-0.694) compared to those in Eichner group C after adjustment. The number of functional occlusal support areas might be inversely related to the blood glucose level and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes.

Teeth Rehabilitation and Nutritional Influence on Diabetic Patients: A Review

“…The study suggests that eating slowly and preserving high masticatory performance by preventing tooth loss or maintaining dental prostheses might prevent the occurrence of diabetes [ 35 ]. Literature showed that, besides the effect of remaining teeth number on nutrition, the occlusal condition (occlusion) and occlusal surfaces of the teeth play an important role in enabling food fragmentation and bolus formation [ 41 ]. Therefore, maintaining occluding surfaces enhances the masticatory performance [ 42 ].…”

“…An interesting cross-sectional study performed on a Chinese population investigated the relation between the number of functional occlusal areas( classified by the Eichner index) and the prevalence of DM2. The study suggested that, as the occlusal support decreases, this is related to an increase in the blood glucose concentration and consequently the prevalence of DM2 [ 41 ].…”

Mastication inefficiency due to diminished or lack of occlusal support is associated with increased blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes

“…People unable to fully masticate due to teeth loss or ill-fitting dentures had insufficient dietary fiber, magnesium, or calcium [10,11], nutrients that might play a protective role against T2D [12,13]. Studies have also shown that there is an association between mastication and the prevalence of diabetes with increased T2D in the total edentulous subjects [14,15].…”