Diabetes

What Is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic condition that prevents your body from properly using blood sugar, also called glucose. Normally, the pancreas produces insulin to help cells absorb the glucose in your blood and use it as energy. Those with diabetes, however, cannot produce or use insulin effectively, which causes glucose to build up. Having excessive amounts of glucose in your blood can cause a range of health problems, including blood disease, nerve damage, kidney damage, vision loss, and more.

Diabetes is very common, with about 20% of all health care dollars spent on diabetes treatment and management. That amounts to over $245 billion every year. While there is no known cure for the disease, you can help manage and reduce its health impact through early diagnosis and treatment.

What Are the Signs of Diabetes?

If you have any of the following symptoms, you should see a doctor about your glucose levels:

  • Frequent urination
  • Excessive thirst or hunger
  • Unwanted weight gain
  • Blurry vision
  • Tingling in the hands or feet
  • Fatigue

Diabetes and the Mouth-Body Connection

Many risk factors are associated with diabetes and oral health. Diabetes can affect your oral health by increasing the level of harmful bacteria in your gums, resulting in periodontal disease. Gum inflammation can also damage the pancreas, where insulin is produced, which can potentially lead to or worsen diabetes.

As a result, nonsurgical periodontal treatment is vital for patients with type-2 diabetes as a way to improve your health outcomes and reduce your healthcare costs.

Periodontal treatment and maintenance can help type-2 diabetes patients achieve:

  • 39% fewer annual hospitalizations
  • 34% reduction in tooth loss
  • 20% fewer cases of microvascular disease
  • 9% lower overall medical costs

Diabetes Treatment

For patients concerned about how to prevent diabetes, Durango Health Group provides complete diabetes diagnosis and treatment services. We also work closely with our partners at Durango Dental Group to provide the comprehensive mouth-body treatment you need to achieve whole-body health.