ABSTRACT
Objectives: diabetes causes numerous oral and salivary changes leading to cariogenic and gingival lesions. The present study was designed to elucidate the role of diabetes mellitus in oral health
Methods: a cross-sectional study including 60 diabetic children [case group] and 30 non diabetic children [control group] of age 3-14 years was conducted. HbA1c and blood glucose level was measured along with the oral health including gingival status and dental caries status was visually assessed. Gingival status was coded for healthy, marginal gingivitis and calculus. Dental caries status [decayed and filled] for both deciduous and permanent dentition was assessed. Data was recorded in a pre-coded oral health proforma, which was then entered and analyzed in SPSS version 10.0. Descriptive analysis such as percentage frequencies and means was performed. Exact Chi-square test was used to analyze any significant changes observed amongst the study population, where level of significance was p < 0.05 with confidence interval 95%
Results: the results show important difference between both groups of children. Dental caries level is significantly higher in diabetic children both in deciduous and permanent dentition than in non-diabetic children [p <0.05]. Gingival health was also observed to be debilitated in diabetic children than non- diabetic children [p < 0.05]
Conclusion: the study highlights that special preventive measures must be adopted to maintain a good oral health of the diabetic children