In this paper, the authors summarize current findings on the relationship between diabetes mellitus (DM) and oral tissue diseases. They study the effect of diabetes on the condition of hard dental tissues, oral mucosa and salivary glands and explain how these undesirable changes occur. They focus primarily on the bilateral relationship between diabetes and periodontitis, common pathogenetic traits of both diseases and on the effect of periodontal treatment on basic metabolic diseases. They show that diabetes not only negatively affects the condition of periodontal tissues, but inflammatory disease of periodontium is also a risk factor for hyperglycemia. The authors point to the emerging closer co-operation between diabetologists and parodontologists (Perio-Diabetes Workshop in 2017) and consider possibilities of effective prevention and better motivation of diabetics for oral health care.
Keywords: diabetes mellitus; gingivitis; inflammatory mediators; oral cavity; periodontitis.