Your dentist may be able to tell a lot about your blood sugar levels just by looking at your gums.

Recent research shows that dentists are often the first to find signs of diabetes and prediabetes in their patients.

This evidence comes to show that people who have periodontitis, or gum disease, are more likely to develop other pre-diabetic or diabetic symptoms. When dentists can diagnose someone with gum disease early, steps can be taken to determine if patients already have or are likely to develop diabetes.

Diabetes & Gum Disease

Dentists can look for signs of periodontitis when trying to diagnose diabetes. People with periodontitis usually notice their gums looking swollen and red. They may feel some pain when touching their gums.

This tenderness and redness may be the first clue that someone has diabetes.

In fact, many people who have severe gum disease may actually have type 2 diabetes that has gone undiagnosed. In one study, dental patients who showed more severe symptoms of gum disease were twice as likely to have diabetes as patients in a control group with no gum disease. More extreme periodontitis symptoms usually correlated with more severe diabetes symptoms. 

Diagnoses in the Dentist’s Chair?

Some researchers suggest that measures of gum disease may be as accurate as fingerstick testing when it comes to diabetes. This means that clues in your teeth and gums may help to point out the severity of your diabetes and help doctors to plan treatment.

Since most Americans go to the dentist at least once a year, dentists’ offices may become an important place in screening for diabetes and helping patients who have already been diagnosed with diabetes.

Researchers in the Netherlands concluded that the dentist’s office “proved to be a suitable location for screening for (pre)diabetes” because “a considerable number of suspected new diabetes cases were identified” there.

Future Changes

While right now it is too expensive to test every dental patient for symptoms of diabetes, this research may lead the way to diabetes testing for everyone at oral check-ups in the future.

For now, dentists are beginning to know that people who show signs of red, swollen gums may need further treatment. Discussions about diabetes can begin with your dentist, and dentists can refer their patients to specialists based on what they see in gums. If you notice yourself having those symptoms, you may want to schedule an appointment to ask about diabetes!

Special thanks to Laura Cockman for writing this article.