US trials Often, tooth loss threatens diabetes

Study shows two major risk groups for tooth loss
In recent decades, great progress has already been made in medicine - also in relation to the widespread disease of diabetes. However, even today scientists are still coming to new findings that would have been dismissed a few years ago as outlandish. For example, in the loss of teeth as a result of diabetes.

Anyone can be unlucky enough to damage their teeth by an accident or even lose a tooth completely. Overall, over the past few decades, however, medical care has become so good that dental losses are steadily declining. In a recent study, scientists from the "Duke University" now found that on the one hand diabetics show an increased risk to suffer in their lives from the loss of teeth, on the other hand, African-Americans are also particularly at risk.

In people with diabetes, the risk of tooth loss is significantly increased. (Image: acceleratorhams / fotolia.com)

Diabetics lose their teeth more easily
In fact, there is a clear link between people with diabetes and an increased rate of tooth loss. Edmond Hewlett, spokesman for the American Dental Association on current study results. It has also been noted that the African American population in America also has an increased risk of losing teeth, added the physician. It has been speculated for some time that diabetes is associated with an increased rate of tooth loss. This speculation has now been confirmed by the current study.

People with diabetes have an average of 21 teeth less
According to Duke University, half of the American population suffers from tooth or gum problems. The incidence is even higher in people who have diabetes. For their research, the scientists had evaluated a sample of 37,000 patients from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The data used had been recorded between 1971 and 2012. After an analysis, the physicians concluded that tooth loss had generally declined over the years. However, it is worrying that the prevalence of diabetics is increasing and is even higher when African Americans suffer from diabetes, the researchers said in the study. With the help of additional data, the researchers were also able to determine that people with diabetes were on average about 21 fewer teeth in 1999 and 2000 than people without diabetes.

Many diabetics do not go enough to the dentist
Diabetes research is currently in full swing and is making great progress. Nevertheless, the number of patients continues to grow. In the past five years alone, more than 1.5 million new cases have been reported in the United States, the researchers report. It almost gives the impression that the American population does not take the threat seriously, explained the physicians in the study. Another study from last week showed that only half of Americans with diabetes ever take their medication. Unfortunately, most diabetics would not be able to get enough teeth, and it would be appropriate for these people to go to the dentist more often. Hewlett. (As)