Objective To clarify the associations of periodontal damage and tooth loss with atherogenic factors among diabetic patients.
Methods We examined the correlations of age, sex, smoking, oral hygiene score, blood pressure, body mass index, and blood chemical data with the mean depth of periodontal pockets or the number of remaining teeth.
Patients One hundred outpatients with type 2 diabetes aged 29 to 77 years.
Results The mean depth of periodontal pockets was significantly associated with smoking, oral hygiene score, and HbA1c; the Spearman correlation coefficients (r) were 0.220, 0.417, and 0.260, respectively. Age, oral hygiene score, and HbA1c were inversely correlated with the number of remaining teeth (r=-0.306, -0.287, and -0.275, respectively). Serum total cholesterol was significantly correlated with the mean depth of pockets after adjustment for smoking, oral hygiene score, and HbA1c (r=0.211; P=0.044), while serum HDL cholesterol tended to be negatively associated with depth (r=-0.202; P=0.055). Serum HDL cholesterol was also associated with an increased number of teeth, which remained significant after adjustment for age, oral hygiene score, and HbA1c (r=0.202; P=0.048). The estimated glomerular filtration rate was significantly and positively correlated with the number of teeth in the univariate analysis, although consideration of the potential confounding factors somewhat weakened the association (r=0.186; P=0.069).
Conclusions We may expect better management of oral health in diabetic patients with control of dyslipidemia in addition to blood glucose.