By Dr Shagun Bindlish

What do brush and flossing have to do with diabetes ? A Lot ! Dental protection does matter if you have diabetes ; here is why — and how to do it right .

What comes to mind when you do the ritual of brushing the teeth in the morning ? Do my teeth look white ? In this era of social media attention , our focus is gearing towards aesthetics . This notion in mind has drifted away from the principle of essential needs of our body . One of the crucial aspects of our health is oral health , especially in patients with diabetes , which has significant implications on patients ' health conditions .

Diabetes is a silent disease , and many cases remain undiagnosed for a prolonged period due to a lack of symptoms . That is why dental health is one of the most ignored screening measures in a patient with diabetes .

Diabetes Mellitus ( DM ) is a condition state among the group of metabolic disorders where blood sugar is high due to the lack of insulin secretion ( Type 1 ) and insulin action ( Type 2 ).

It is a complex disorder where the chronic elevation of blood sugar is associated with the dysfunction and end-organ damage of both oral and systemic organs at varying degrees . There is enough evidence and data to confirm the correlation between high blood sugar and gum disease that can affect gums and oral cavity .

Common oral cavity infections are listed below in the table ( Fig . 1 ).

Common Oral Infections What does it mean ? Signs and Symtoms

Oral candidiasis or white tongue

Fungal infection Open sore , white tongue , white patch on cheeks

Xerostomia or dry mouth Lack of saliva in the mouth infection , tooth decay