October 12, 2008
New dLife.com Articles On Inflammation, Diabetes, Strong Teeth
Lowering blood sugar by getting your teeth fixed and by keeping inflammation in check are the focus of my two new articles on dLife.com. It may seem counterintuitive to think that a normal blood sugar count and gum disease are related, but the fact is they’re so closely intertwined that once they start to interact they just make each other worse.
The article Stronger Teeth = Better Health describes a common occurrence in my practice. When my patients who have diabetes get their teeth fixed, they get a two-fer. First, routine dental therapy can help reduce blood sugar. Second, with stronger and healthier teeth they can eat a wide variety of foods that are better for diabetes nutrition, especially the firm vegetables that are lower in calories and carbohydrates. It’s not at all unusual to see significant weight loss.
The second column, C-Reactive Protein: A Marker That Signals A Menace, sheds some light on a telltale sign of inflammation in your body. CRP is a marker in your blood that signals the presence of inflammation somewhere. The higher the level of the marker, the more inflammation. One of the conditions that sets off this natural alarm bell is gum disease. When activated, CRP sends out a variety of messenger cells that trigger another type of cells and marches them off to fight the inflammation. Another element that can trip the alarm is elevated blood sugar. Imagine what happens when both the gum disease and the high blood sugar levels start sending these cells throughout your body.
Fortunately, dental treatment as a part of diabetes care is effective in reaching the normal blood sugar range and reducing the inflammation. Click here to read more about CRP and its effects on blood sugar levels. If you’d like to discuss how to lower blood sugar, locate a DentistryForDiabeticsSM dentist in your region with this link.
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