Oral Health And Diabetes: A Review Of 150 Patients Attending The Weekly Diabetic Clinic At The University Of Calabar Teaching Hospital Calabar, Nigeria.

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease which may have an effect on the gingival status and may aggravate pre-existing oral disease. Routine dental evaluation is therefore necessary in its management. The purpose of this article is to investigate the oral health status of one 150 Diabetic patients who attend the weekly diabetic clinic at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar. Patients and Methods: This is a cross sectional questionnaire-based descriptive study. Patients who attended the diabetic clinic of the hospital between January 1st 2004 and December 31st 2006 and consented were randomly recruited for the study. Results: There were 60 (40%) males and 90 (60%) females giving a male-tofemale ratio of 1:1.5. Most of the patients were between 41 and 50 years of age. The diagnosis of a major percentage of the patients were over five years prior to the time of this study. One hundred and eighteen (78%) out of the 150 patients had never visited the dental clinic before presentation. Conclusion: Most diabetic patients in our environment have poor perception and awareness of their diabetic condition as it relates to their oral health. It is important to have a collaborative and combined approach among physicians and the dental surgeons in the management diabetes mellitus Keywords : Assessment, Awareness, Calabar, Diabetes, Oral. Ebonyi Medical Journal Vol. 7 (1&2) 2008: pp. 31-35