As you undergo dental assistant training, you will discover that problems developing within the mouth can often be signs for other issues occurring throughout the body. When certain oral symptoms are displayed, you may discover that an underlying issue is a cause, one of which might be Type 2 diabetes. Spend some time learning just how pivotal dental teams can be in identifying this type of problem while providing patients with the help they need.
What Dental Problems Can Signal Possible Diabetes?
If a patient comes in with severe periodontitis (gum disease), this should be your first indication that they may also have diabetes. The reason is that there is a common link between the two that involves poorly managed glycemic levels and oral health. Since diabetes causes blood vessels to thicken, making it harder for the body to process nutrients from tissues in the oral cavity, this weakens the immune system and allows for infections to develop. Thus, bacteria forms and attacks the soft oral tissues causing gum disease.
Why Dental Teams Are Important
If someone is unaware that they have Type 2 diabetes but are showing concern for their gum health, a dentist and their team who are knowledgeable and skilled at understanding how the mouth and body are interconnected will be much easier to identify the possibility of diabetes being present. As a result, not only will it make it possible to better treat gum disease, but it will also provide the patient with invaluable information about their overall health and, in turn, speak to a doctor about treatment.
By establishing relationships with healthcare physicians, dental teams can begin to collaborate with medical doctors on ways to most effectively treat a patient with Type 2 diabetes and gum disease. Because it requires proper management of blood sugar levels, it is important that patients understand how both diabetes and gum health are related and when one worsens or improves, so will the other.
While you may still be in dental assisting school, it would be advantageous to seek out additional information about the connection between diseases in the mouth and how they correlate with issues throughout the body. By talking to your peers, teachers, and licensed dentists, you can be better equipped to help patients in the future who may not know they have additional health problems.
About Dental
Assistant Pro
For more than 25 years, Dental Assistant Pro has been providing aspiring dental
assistants with essential knowledge and hands-on skills learning. Our philosophy
is the best dental assisting training should be taught in a dental office at an
affordable cost, so why not take a chance and enroll in our 10-week course
schedule? You’ll learn how to work within a dental office setting, how to
properly sterilize and disinfect tools and equipment, and how to assist in
looking for problems that extend beyond the mouth. To learn more about us, visit
our website
or call (513) 515-6611.
