How a Lack of Dental Care can Create Secondary Complications of Diabetes

For individuals with diabetes, there are many health considerations to monitor beyond blood glucose levels. With diabetic individuals susceptible to bacterial infections, a variety of specific health care maintenance must be achieved in an effort to reduce infection.

From gum disease to foot disease, diabetes can create many secondary health complications. To aide the diabetic patient, the following are some general health tips for monitoring secondary complications associated with abnormal blood glucose levels.

Gum disease is a common complication found in the diabetic patient. Because bacteria are most proliferant in the mouth, suffering from an excessive sugar level only allows for additional diabetic complications involving oral health. For this reason, the diabetic patient should not only brush teeth three times per day but also floss on a daily basis to ensure food and bacteria are cleaned from in between the teeth. In addition, dental visits, on a quarterly basis, are also indicated for the diabetic patient to ensure proper maintenance of teeth and gums.

Another common secondary complication of diabetes involves fungal infections of the mouth, feet and even genitalia. Again, because bacteria and fungus grow best in the presence of sugary substances, failing to monitor blood glucose levels can significantly increase the complications associated with the development of fungal infections.

To reduce the risk of bacterial and fungal infections, therefore, patients are recommended to not only keep blood glucose levels in balance but also work to keep excessively dry areas of skin moisturized using a good quality moisturizer as well as keeping excessively moist areas dry, especially around the feet. Additionally, the diabetic patient should avoid excess exposure to the sun as unnecessary exposure can lead to additional dryness