If you have diabetes, you know the disease can harm your eyes, nerves, kidneys, heart and other important systems in the body. People with diabetes have a higher than normal risk of periodontal diseases.
Periodontal diseases are infections of the gum and bone that hold the teeth in place.
In advanced stages, they lead to painful chewing problems and even tooth loss. Like any infection, gum disease can make it hard to keep your blood sugar under control. Like other complications of diabetes, gum disease is linked to diabetic control. People with poor blood sugar control get gum disease more often and more severely, and they lose more teeth than do persons with good control. In fact, people whose diabetes is well controlled have no more periodontal disease than persons without diabetes.