Diabetes, despite what you can read on some forums, is a risk factor which should be taken into consideration when you want to have dental implants. The major risk in diabetic patients comes from the fact that they have a breeding ground for gum disease, bacteria, and other dental infections which could lead to periodontitis in the dental implant. People suffering from diabetes are often affected. The latest generation dental implants, like basal implants, make it possible to treat these diabetic patients without increasing the risk of rejection and infection. Let's see how.
Dental implant and diabetes
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic disease that can be controlled but cannot be cured. Diabetes is characterized by too much or too little sugar in the blood. Тhese two types are called hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. Diabetes is caused by not using or a hormone called insulin, which is produced by the pancreas allowing glucose to be absorbed by the body's cells and converted into the energy they need. If a person has diabetes, then glucose is not processed and it accumulates in the blood creating hyperglycemia.
There are several types of diabetes but 2 are the most common: type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
- Diabetes says "type 1", is a dysfunction of the pancreas that does not secrete, or not enough insulin.
- Diabetes says "type 2" is a dysfunction of cells whose misuse of insulin leads to progressive deterioration of the system. Its development is insidious over many years.
Diabetes and oral health risks
The imbalance of diabetes leads to many dental problems. At first, the appearance of cavities is more frequent on natural teeth. These are caused by excess sugar in the saliva that people with diabetes are more prone to develop periodontal diseases such as periodontics or peri-implantitis on traditional dental implants. Once installed, it is a vicious circle, diabetes leads to oral diseases and infections and dental infections reduce the body's resistance.
The saliva being sweeter, and the decrease in resistance to microbial infections (which also originate from diabetes), make people with diabetes more vulnerable to dental infections. Among the oral diseases encountered in 50 % of diabetics are found: Periodontitis, gingivitis, and dental caries.
The basal dental implant for diabetic patients
The bi-cortical dental implant called basal implant has an entirely smooth surface that does not allow bacteria to develop even in the event of retraction of the gum. No case of peri-implantitis has been detected in the 60,000 implants placed by Prof. Ihde's team. Also, the success rate on diabetic patients is identical to that of other patients. Basal dental implants will therefore be strongly recommended for patients with type 1 or type diabetes. 2.
