Journal of Oral Hygiene & Health
Open Access

Abstract

In the U.S., 29.1 million people have diabetes, including 8.1 million who are undiagnosed. An additional 86 million adults have pre-diabetes and are at risk for developing diabetes, but only 11% know that they have it. Fortunately, if they are aware of their pre-diabetes/diabetes status, people with pre-diabetes can delay and even prevent diabetes and early diabetes detection can lead to earlier treatment and lifestyle changes that may help prevent, delay and reduce its complications. Because of the bidirectional relationship between periodontitis and diabetes, some have supported screening for pre-diabetes/diabetes among periodontal patients, especially because millions of people in the U.S. visit a dentist each year but not a primary care provider. In addition, knowing patients��? diabetes status enables dentists to optimize oral health care, as uncontrolled hyperglycemia increases risk of oral infections, medical emergencies during dental surgery and delayed post-surgery healing. One way to screen periodontal patients for pre-diabetes/diabetes involves collecting gingival crevicular blood (GCB), allowing it to dry on a blood collection card and sending it for laboratory testing. We describe our experiences using this approach to screen for pre-diabetes/diabetes with GCB. We implemented it with >400 patients who were receiving dental care at the NYU College of Dentistry. Results showed a correlation of 0.99 between screening results using finger stick blood and GCB and demonstrated the acceptability and feasibility of our screening approach to both dental providers and dental patients. Challenges and opportunities for dentists and their patients in implementing this screening approach will be described.

Biography

Shiela M Strauss has joined the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing Faculty in September, 2007, having begun her research in Public Health shortly after earning her PhD in 1996. Since coming to NYU, her research has especially examined the feasibility, acceptability and consequences of screening for diabetes at dental visits. She is also the author of over 80 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Email: shiela.strauss@nyu.edu