Medically reviewed by Anna Goldman, MD.
A brand new study suggests that brushing your teeth twice per day could improve your blood sugar control.
The surprising report, authored by researchers from the MedStar Diabetes Institute and the American Dental Association, was published in Diabetes Spectrum and highlighted on the recent annual conference of the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists (ADCES). The authors conducted a brand new review of previous work on the connections between oral hygiene and glycemic control.
The researchers identified 11 studies in the prevailing medical literature that explored the connection between oral hygiene and blood sugar levels of adults with type 2 diabetes. These studies consistently showed that adults who brushed their teeth more often had higher glucose control. Frequent brushers had significantly higher A1C results, or higher fasting and/or post-prandial glucose levels, than those that brushed their teeth less often. (Unsurprisingly, the studies also showed that more frequent tooth brushing resulted in higher oral health.)
“The available data,” the authors conclude, “suggest that improved engagement in toothbrushing behavior could also be related to improved oral health and higher glycemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes.”
While the outcomes must be taken with a grain of salt — the review didn’t include any large, robust interventional studies — they really weren’t entirely unexpected. The truth is, there’s quite loads of evidence tying oral health and diabetes control.
It’s possible that an unhealthy oral environment could cause a subtle but real decline in blood sugar control. This may result in a vicious cycle as uncontrolled diabetes tends to cause chronic inflammation, negatively impacting immune cell function and exacerbating periodontal issues. Within the mouth, you can assist your body’s fight against inflammation by cleansing usually, which can not directly profit glycemic control. That is most evident within the case of gum disease (periodontitis), a serious infection of the gums:
- A 2018 study in The Lancet conducted an experiment on adults with each type 2 diabetes and periodontal disease. Patients who were randomly assigned to receive an intensive intervention to correct gum disease — including thorough cleansing and regular dental visits — had an A1C 0.5 percent lower than those receiving conventional care. The authors suggested that gum disease treatment and “routine oral health assessment … might be essential for effective management of type 2 diabetes.”
- The International Diabetes Federation and the European Federation of Periodontology have co-authored a consensus statement on the “bidirectional relationship” between diabetes and gum disease, citing evidence that enhanced gum care results in blood sugar improvements.
- A 2021 article explains that “systemic inflammation” resulting from gum disease can directly cause blood sugar increases.
There could also be other complex aspects at play — oral health is commonly considered a window to your overall health and has surprising connections to brain and heart health, in response to On a regular basis Health. And, because the National Institutes of Health points out, oral health problems might be frustrating and painful, making it harder to persist with a healthy diabetes management plan.
It’s also possible that the effect is indirect. Possibly brushing teeth twice a day simply puts people in the appropriate mindset to interact in other healthy habits — like maintaining a healthy diet meals, exercising, or monitoring blood sugar levels.
The American Diabetes Association recommends that folks with diabetes see a dentist at the least twice per 12 months. Ideally, your dentist needs to be “aware of the needs of individuals with diabetes,” and you must keep them well informed about your health (including your A1C level) and the medications you utilize.
We all know that glucose control and oral hygiene influence one another in the wrong way, too. Oral health problems are extremely common in diabetes, for quite a lot of reasons:
- Hyperglycemia actually raises the sugar content of saliva, making the mouth of an individual with diabetes more hospitable to bacteria.
- Sugary saliva speeds tooth decay, identical to sugary foods.
- Diabetes can inhibit the immune system, slowing down the response to infections.
- High blood sugars also reduce salivary flow, resulting in dry mouth and a rise in harmful oral bacteria.
Blood sugar control really matters for oral health. In a 2022 study, researchers found that children with type 1 diabetes with good metabolic control had lower rates of cavities, plaque, gingivitis, and other measures of oral health — regardless that they didn’t brush their teeth or visit the dentist any more regularly than children with “poor” metabolic control.
Takeaways
We all know that proper diabetes management is sweet for oral health, however it’s possible that the other can be true: Taking good care of your teeth may be good to your blood sugar levels.
Scientists are only starting to know why tooth brushing and good oral hygiene may be helpful for blood sugar control. Possibly good oral hygiene can actually reduce chronic inflammation, lowering glucose levels. Or possibly it just puts people in the appropriate way of thinking to tackle their diabetes management. Either way, health experts agree that taking good care of your gums and teeth is a sneakily essential a part of overall health, especially if you’ve diabetes.