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Gum disease is an early sign of diabetes, and tooth loss is associated with risk of dementia, studies find

BMJ 2017; 356 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j1225 (Published 09 March 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;356:j1225
  1. Susan Mayor
  1. London

Patients with periodontitis have higher plasma concentrations of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) than people with healthy gums, and those with severe periodontitis have a significantly higher risk of developing diabetes, a Dutch study has found.

Previous studies had indicated an association between oral disease and diabetes, so researchers investigated whether periodontitis could provide a useful warning sign of type 2 diabetes. They studied 313 consecutive patients visiting a university dental clinic …

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