(P104) Diabetes and Periodontitis: What Are We Missing in Diabetes Care to Improve Outcomes?

Literature suggests that oral health may not be appropriately addressed in diabetes management. Collaboration between medical and dental professionals has been shown to increase access to care, improve health literacy, and provide cost-effective care that can help ameliorate outcomes. This poster outlines how diabetes and periodontitis have a bi-directional relationship that has been well established and how people with diabetes have a higher incidence of periodontitis due to prolonged hyperglycemia, increased inflammation, and various autoimmune components. This coexistence of diabetes and periodontitis increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes-related nephropathy, and diabetes-related retinopathy. Diabetes Care and Education Specialists can create strategies for periodontitis prevention to help bridge this gap in diabetes management.