Utility Of Gingival Crevicular Blood For Assessment Of Blood Glucose In Individuals With Diabetes Mellitus And Evidence Of Periodontitis

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a common finding in the medical history of patients receiving treatment for periodontal disease. Bleeding from the gingival tissues is considered to be more in poorly controlled diabetics than in good or moderately controlled diabetics. Periodontal inflammation with or without the complicating factor of diabetes mellitus is known to produce ample extravasated blood during the diagnostic procedures. Routine probing during a periodontal examination is more familiar to the practitioner and less traumatic than a finger puncture with a sharp lancet. Gingival crevicular blood from probing may be an excellent source of blood for glucometric analysis using glucometers. Aim: To determine the efficiency of gingival crevicular blood obtained on routine probing for assessment of blood glucose levels using glucometer. To compare the glucose levels in the gingival crevicular blood and sample obtained from finger puncture method using glucometer. Material and Methods: 50 patients with history of diabetes mellitus were examined for the study. The labial aspect of upper anterior teeth, irrespective of their probing depths were chosen for glucose measurement. Bleeding sites were isolated, blood sample was taken in a micropipette and transferred on to the blood glucose test strip using a filler. Following crevicular blood sampling, blood sample was taken from one of the patients’ finger for glucometric analysis. Result: A strong correlation (r = 0.946, p,0.001) between gingival crevicular and blood sample obtained using finger puncture method. There were no significant differences between capillary and crevicular blood glucose even with increasing blood glucose levels. Conclusion: The results suggests that gingival crevicular blood can provide an acceptable source for measuring blood glucose using glucometer. The use of micropipette was a reliable method for collecting gingival crevicular blood sample.