Mattson J S, Gallagher S J, Jabro M H, McLey L L
Department of Periodontics, Creighton University School of Dentistry, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
Compend Contin Educ Dent. 1998 Sep;19(9):923-6, 928, 930 passim; quiz 938.
Dental practitioners need to be aware of the complications that can arise in the management and treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus. Patients with diabetes, and patients with a family history of diabetes, are at-risk dental patients. They are more likely to develop periodontal disease, and the periodontitis is more likely to be severe. Diabetes influences the progression and severity of periodontitis through changes in the small blood vessels, decreased collagen formation, and impairment of the host's defense mechanisms. Furthermore, complications associated with diabetes, such as impaired wound healing, can affect the patient's response to periodontal therapies like guided tissue regeneration (GTR). The case report in this article discusses the postsurgical complications that occurred during GTR treatment of a patient with non-insulin-dependent diabetes. The diabetic's susceptibility to periodontal disease and impaired wound healing can affect the progression of the disease and its treatment. Dental patients with diabetes require close supervision and frequent monitoring of their medical and dental health by the dental clinician.
