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February 25, 2008
Diabetes and gum disease keep each other company
Group Health and Washington Dental Service launch new study
Seattle—People with diabetes, and their health care providers,
know they’re at risk of stroke, heart disease, kidney disease—and losing
their sight and limbs. But they may not know they’re also at risk of losing
their teeth, as serious gum disease (periodontal disease, not mere
gingivitis) and diabetes also tend to happen together. Periodontal disease
is a gum infection that is a major cause of tooth loss in adults. Usually
painless, it often goes undetected.
That’s why Group Health and the Washington Dental Service (WDS) are
teaming up on a new study to explore the relationship between diabetes and
gum disease. The study is part of an ongoing partnership to strengthen the
links between medical and dental care. It builds on the WDS-Group Health
pilot program to build oral health preventive-care services into routine
well-child visits.
“People really care about their teeth and their smiles,” said study
leader Robert Reid, MD, PhD, a Group Health
doctor who is an associate medical director of
Group Health’s Department of Preventive Care
and an assistant investigator at the Group Health Center for Health Studies.
“So detecting and treating periodontal disease may help motivate patients to
keep their diabetes under control.”
“Diabetics have a significantly higher risk of periodontal disease than
non-diabetics,” noted Ron Inge, DDS, vice president and dental director for
WDS. “Periodontitis may be a key contributor to complications of diabetes.”
In the new one-year study, funded by a grant from WDS, researchers will
examine records from people age 40–74 who belong to both Group Health and
WDS. They will see whether gum disease is linked to diabetes, blood sugar
levels, and other health problems and costs related to diabetes.
Group Health is an established leader in diabetes care, said Dr. Reid.
“Yet even at Group Health, we doctors and nurses who care for people with
diabetes may not recognize when they have periodontal disease and require
treatment, because we don’t do dental care.” And dentists don’t always
know which of their patients have diabetes. “The collaboration between WDS
and Group Health is helping to bridge the divide between medicine and
dentistry.” As an innovative leader in dental care, Washington Dental
Service believes that oral health is essential to overall health.
About Group Health Center for Health Studies
Founded in 1947, Group Health is a Seattle-based, consumer-governed,
nonprofit health care system that coordinates care and coverage. For 25
years, Group Health Center for Health Studies has conducted research on
preventing, diagnosing, and treating major health problems. Government and
private research grants provide its main funding.
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