THE ROLE OF THE DENTIST IN PATIENTS’ AWARENESS ABOUT THE INTERRELATION BETWEEN DIABETES MELLITUS AND THE PERIODONTAL DISEASE
Abstract:
It has been stated that diabetes mellitus (DM) and the periodontal disease are interrelated.
Little is known about patients’ awareness regarding this matter, though. In our study we aimed to
quantify patients’ knowledge using a survey containing ten items: six about DM in general and four
about DM-periodontal disease relation. Our results show that the majority of the patients responded
correctly to the first six items. Very few had information about DM-periodontal disease link and the
source of information was from the dentist and the diabetologist. We concluded that practitioners
should and could increase the awareness of patients about DM and the periodontal disease for a
better management of these two diseases and an improved quality of life.
full text article in English (.EN) |