Potential benefit of non-surgical periodontal therapy in patients with type 1 diabetes

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease are the most common diseases in the general population. These two pathologies are often present in many people at the same time, and they are able to conditioning each other, so they would to be called the "diabolic duo". Periodontal disease has also been considered as one of the many complications of diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease are both characterized by a condition of systemic inflammation. Studies have suggested that periodontal infection may alter glycemic control by increasing insulin resistance to tissues. In addition, it has been reported that periodontitis is associated with a slight increase in HbA1c in non-diabetic subjects. Materials and Methods: After a screening questionnaire about home oral hygiene habits, in which it was also asked about how frequently they are on regular check-ups by their dentist, 11 elderly patients were selected between 23-64 years old who did not undergo professional oral hygiene sessions for at least 6 months, instructed, followed and treated by the same operator. Patients were submitted to professional oral hygiene session: debridment and scaling and root planing (in the presence of etiologic sub-gingivitis factors) at T0, T1 (3 months), T2 (6 months) and remotivated at the end of each session. Simultaneously, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values ​​were evaluated in the blood. Results and Conclusions: The results obtained showed that at 3 months from the first oral hygiene session, the reduction in glycated hemoglobin value remained almost unchanged from the starting value (-0,075). Six months after the first oral hygiene session, a reduction in glycated hemoglobin value of -0.245 was seen. That shows that by intervening with a non-surgical periodontal approach, there is an improvement in glycemic control in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus with or without periodontal disease. The current study envisages the enrollment of more patients and the insertion of recalls to 9 months (T3) and 1 year (T4).