Aims: To assess oral status in a sample of Type 2 diabetic patients before and after therapy with saliva substitutes and oral status in a control group of diabetic patients who were not given saliva substitutes.
Methods: Salivary flow rate was determined in 134 patients (mean age 47.9 ± 2.9 years) with Type 2 diabetes. Mean salivary rate was significantly low compared with a healthy control group. The sample of 134 patients was randomly divided into two groups of 67 people each. One group was given immunologically active salivary substitutes for 6 months, the other group was given nothing. Each patient of the two groups underwent a dental and periodontal examination at the beginning of the study and 6 months later.
Results: As regards carious teeth and teeth loss, there was no statistical difference between the first group after 6 months of treatment with salivary substitutes and the control group (P>0.01). Salivary substitutes did not significantly reduce the periodontal disease (P>0.01). In the group treated with salivary substitutes, after 6 months of therapy, the average dental plaque index decreased from 2.3 ± 0.73 to 1.6 ± 0.56, patients with gingivitis decreased from 66 to 43% and patients with positive yeast counts decreased from 60 to 37%. These differences were statistically significant (P<0.01).
Conclusions: In Type 2 diabetes, in the case of hyposalivation, a therapy with immunologically active saliva substitutes can be of help in reducing the amount of plaque, gingivitis and positive yeast counts.
© 2010 The Authors. Diabetic Medicine © 2010 Diabetes UK.