Awareness of Oral Complications of Diabetes Mellitus in Diabetes Patients: A Questionnaire Study

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the many metabolic disorders that show a drastic increase in
its prevalence with every year. Though there are many literatures available explaining the importance of
oral hygiene in preventing complications in diabetes there is a tendency in the patients to ignore their oral
hygiene. The role of dentist in resolving or preventing the oral complications is important at the same time,
the patient themselves should take an initiative to acquire more knowledge about their condition.
Method: A two-page questionnaire was created in accordance with the OHSU guidelines for evaluating the
awareness of oral complications in diabetic patients.
Results: Majority of the patients, irrespective of being graduates or literate lacked sufficient knowledge on
oral complications of Diabetic patients in spite of being aware about the general complications.
Conclusion: Awareness is needed for the patients with diabetes in both systemic and dental complications
as it can affect their quality of life. Diabetic individuals should be encouraged to get regular dental checkups
done and more frequently than non-diabetic individuals to seek active care for their problems for better
prognosis and improved quality of life.