Association Between Diabetes and Periodontitis

People who are suffering from diabetes or have someone affected with the condition in the family knows very well about its complications. Diabetes not only affects the blood sugar levels but it can also affect the whole body including your mouth. This is because uncontrolled sugar levels weaken your body’s defence mechanism, especially white blood cells that give rise to infections easily. As a result, severe bacterial infections can affect your oral health. Periodontitis is a severe gum infection that damages gums that support teeth and loosen them resulting into tooth loss.

Association between diabetes and periodontitis

Most of the evidence suggests that diabetes increase the risk of developing periodontitis. This could be mainly because diabetes makes a person more susceptible to contracting infections. Some studies also suggest that periodontitis makes it difficult for patients to control their blood sugar levels who are suffering from diabetes.

Besides weakening the white blood cells, diabetes causes blood vessels to thicken which hampers the flow of nutrients to and waste products from body tissues including the mouth. Due to this, the body loses its ability to fight infections. Since periodontal disease is a bacterial infection, people with uncontrolled diabetes might experience frequent and severe gum disease.

Taking care of oral health when suffering from diabetes

It is vital for people suffering from diabetes to take care of their oral health to prevent complications. Periodontitis can be prevented by following oral hygiene practices regularly. Below mentioned are a few tips –

1. Keep monitoring your blood sugar levels. Get your regular screening and check-ups on time as per your doctors’ advice.
2. Brush your teeth after having meals. This will help remove food particles trapped between your teeth and gums.
3. Flossing once a day helps remove food particles and plaque trapped between teeth and gums in the areas where the toothbrush cannot reach.
4. Use Ayurvedic oil pulling methods ‘kavala’ and ‘gandusha’ to improve your oral health. Periodontitis occurs due to the bacteria feeding on the food stuck in your teeth. Over a period, bacteria develop a thin layer on the teeth referred to as plaque and cause inflammation affecting both gums and teeth. Regular practice of oil pulling will help remove toxins from the mouth with the help of natural oil. You may use Jiva Oil Pulling for this purpose.
5. Quit smoking as it will worsen both the conditions of diabetes and periodontitis.
6. If you notice signs and symptoms like swollen or puffy gums, bright red, dusky red or purplish gums, gums that feel tender when touched, gums that bleed easily, pink-tinged toothbrush after brushing, bad breath, painful chewing, spitting out blood when brushing or flossing your teeth, new spaces developing between your teeth, inform and consult your diabetes doctor. These could be the symptoms of periodontitis condition.

If you are looking for a safe and natural way to control your sugar levels or improve your oral health condition, you can consult Jiva Ayurveda doctors to get the best ayurvedic treatment for diabetes. They suggest personalised, root-cause based treatment to each individual. The treatment consists of customised Ayurvedic remedies, personalised diet and lifestyle as per your body constitution, yoga asanas and pranayama beneficial for your body. Ayurvedic medicine for diabetes that they prescribe not only helps rejuvenate the body from within but also prevents the progression & complications of the disease. Gradually, the treatment will help reduce the dependency on insulin and diabetic pills, reduce the risk of diabetes complications and improve the overall quality of life.