Dental visits could provide opportunity for glucose screening
With an estimated 8 million Americans living with undiagnosed diabetes, dental cleanings offer one regular screening opportunity for glucose testing. Dr. Maryam Brazdo is happy to report that dental screenings may provide precisely the mechanism necessary to accurately screen for this potentially harmful condition.
Using gingival crevicular blood (GCB) for hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing produced values that were nearly identical to those obtained using finger stick blood (FSB), with a correlation of .991 between the two blood samples of 408 dental patients. Testing HbA1c is promoted by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for diabetes diagnostic purposes and glycemic control monitoring.
The New York University team of researchers led by Dr. Strauss found that participants who were at least forty-five years old might especially reap great benefit from diabetes screening at dental visits. In addition, screening HbA1c as a regular practice could help monitor the diabetes control of those already diagnosed. If you’re concerned about diabetes and your oral health, contact us today!
Reference:
New York University. (2015, February 26). Study successfully screens for diabetes at dental visits using oral blood. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 13, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150226163247.htm