Diabetes and Dental Care

I had my semi-annual dental cleaning and exam today. I LOVE my dental appointments. First of all, my dentist is gorgeous – he looks like a young Val Kilmer with awesome blue eyes that I get to gaze into while he cleans my teeth. Secondly, I love that clean feeling after the hygienist brushes my teeth and the yummy crunchies I get to enjoy afterward, mmmmm. However, today’s exam led to the discovery of a small cavity :( So I’ve gotta go back in mid December and have that fixed, but that’s the least of my worries.

Today was different than all of my previous dental visits because today I had the task of telling my dentist I have diabetes. He was shocked, especially when I told him it was type 1. He was under the impression that people were diagnosed with type 1 as kids, and I was an… adult. I explained to him that type 1 is known as juvenile diabetes but also as insulin-dependent diabetes and that my pancreas is going ka-put on me.

He asked me what my symptoms were that indicated to me that I had diabetes and I told him about my weight loss, extreme thirst, dry lips, and dehydration. He told me that saliva is VERY important to maintaining a healthy mouth, just as important as brushing and flossing. Saliva washes away a lot of the sugars and other nasty stuff that builds up in the mouth and on the teeth. As a diabetic, if I do not maintain my diabetes and allow my sugars to stay at a high level, dehydration (a symptom of hyperglycemia) will reduce the amount of saliva in my mouth and I will be at risk for some major dental damage. Yikes! And I thought a cavity was bad.

I’m glad I told my dentist I have diabetes. I learned a lot from the experience today. The importance of maintaining my diabetes for my overall health (teeth included) was reinforced, as well as the importance of staying hydrated, whether you have diabetes or not.