Diabetes and Your Smile – Important Things to Know

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 10 people in America have diabetes. While this disease that is characterized by unstable blood sugar levels is common, it can have detrimental effects on your smile. At our dental practice in Sugar Land, we help people with diabetes maintain and restore their beautiful smiles on a regular basis. Take a look at some of the things you should know about your smile if you have diabetes.

Diabetes can be linked to tooth loss.

Tooth loss is a major risk you face if you have uncontrolled diabetes. In fact, a great deal of tooth loss can be attributed to oral health conditions that are specifically brought on by diabetes. Therefore, you do have to be especially vigilant about taking care of your teeth and maintaining stable blood sugar levels as a diabetic.

Your smile may need added attention from a dentist.

If you do have diabetes, you can expect that your general dentist will want to see you a bit more often to monitor the health of your smile. Diabetes can lead to more issues with plaque accumulation and decay. Therefore, your cleanings will be even more important and your regular checkups may need to be handled in a more timely way. Likewise, if you have any small issues with your oral health, your dentist will likely want to keep a closer eye on the situation because you can be more prone to developing a risky infection.

You may be more prone to cosmetic smile issues.

From tooth discoloration to changes in alignment, diabetes issues for the long term can bring a lot of changes to the appearance of your smile. Thankfully, a number of cosmetic dental treatments may help keep your smile looking more like yours in spite of some of the changes you may see.

Discuss Diabetes and Your Smile with a Sugar Land, TX Dentist

Even with diabetes, you don’t have to face losing your smile. Modern dental technology has afforded so many new ways we can help people keep a healthy smile in spite of some of the biggest challenges. Not to mention, restorative options are more accessible now than ever. If you would like to schedule an appointment, reach out to us at First Dental Family and Cosmetic Dentistry in Sugar Land, TX.