The dental office visit as a potential opportunity for diabetes screening: an analysis using NHANES 2003-2004 data

Abstract

As almost all individuals with periodontitis would have been recommended for diabetes screening, and many at-risk persons with periodontal disease recently visited a dentist, our data suggest that the dental visit provides an important potential venue for this screening.

Diabetes and Periodontitis—A Dental Hygienist’s Perspective

“…It was over 20 years ago when Löe suggested that periodontal disease is the 6th complication of diabetes [10]. Since then, much has been written about how OHCPs are uniquely positioned to screen patients for diabetes and prediabetes [11][12][13]. Just as screening dental patients for hypertension became a standard of care 50 years ago, screening for diabetes should become a standard of care and no longer considered optional in routine dental visits.…”

Oral health information from the dentist to the diabetologist

“…Periodontitis is considered to be a complication of diabetes mellitus [6,7] and therefore it has been suggested that dentists could help to screen for diabetes [8][9][10][11]. Periodontitis is a chronic multifactorial inflammatory disease of the tooth supporting structures [10].…”

Point-of-Care HbA1c Testing With the A1cNow Test Kit in General Practice Dental Clinics

“…23,24 In addition, the high risk for diabetes among individuals with periodontal disease 25-30 has motivated some to suggest the potential of the dental visit as another opportunity for diabetes screening. 31-34 …”