Diabetes reduces durability of enamel and dentin, researchers find
A diabetes diagnosis may lead to weakened teeth and tooth decay due to the reduced strength and durability of enamel and dentin, reveal researchers at Rutgers University (Rutgers), New Jersey, US. Studies have established that people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes have significantly high rates of most oral health issues, both in the teeth and the soft tissues that surround them – a fact confirmed yet again through the findings of this latest study.
“We’ve long seen elevated rates of cavity formation and tooth loss in patients with diabetes, and we’ve long known that treatments such as fillings do not last as long in such patients, but we did not know exactly why,” said Dr. Mohammad Ali Saghiri, Assistant Professor of Restorative Dentistry at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.
In an experiment that carried on for 28 weeks, healthy and diabetic mice were noted to have significant differences in their teeth: although the two groups started with comparable teeth, enamel grew significantly softer in the diabetic mice at the 12-week mark, and the gap continued to widen throughout the study; significant differences in dentin microhardness was also noted by week 28.
Diabetes affects enamel and dentin, the hard substance under enamel that gives structure to teeth. The disease can also interfere with mineralisation (adding of protective minerals) of teeth as they wear away from normal usage.
This Rutgers study advances a multiyear effort by Dr. Saghiri and other researchers to understand how diabetes affects dental health and to develop treatments that counter its negative impact.
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