Tokyo Dental College Ichikawa general hospital investigated the conditions of diabetic patients jointly with three departments : internal medicine, dentistry, and ophthalmology. We observed how the dental hygienist had to intervene in response to the situation of oral hygiene for over 65 years old diabetics.
The subjects comprised 43 patients with a dentulous jaw (male : 20, female : 23, average age : 69.2 years old) among the 142 diabetic patients who visited the internal medicine department of our hospital and were approved to visit our department over a period of one year, between November 2007 and October 2008.
There were ten examination items : gender, age, duration of diabetes, presence of retinopathy, treatment method of diabetes, HbA1c, degree of alveolar bone absorption, present teeth, PCR, and BOP.
Among these items, here we focus on age, PCR, BOP, the number of present teeth, and HbA1c.
Investigation of the relationships between age and PCR, BOP, and the number of present teeth showed a positive correlation between age and PCR as well as BOP. In addition, the number of present teeth was the highest among subjects aged 70~74 years, and tended to decrease from 75 years of age. No correlation was observed between HbA1c and PCR, BOP, and the number of present teeth.
Since a correlation was observed between age and the state of oral hygiene but not between the state of diabetes and the state of oral hygiene, oral hygiene instructions given by dental hygienists were considered important for elderly individuals regardless of whether they have diabetes.
View full abstract