Dental Care Helps Save On Costs For Diabetes Treatment

More evidence of the links between dental care and diabetes control surfaced recently at an international conference of dental researchers. This investigation focused on the costs of diabetes care that were reduced when people who have elevated blood sugar got good dental therapy. Here’s what they found – when dental treatment reduces risks of complications from high blood sugar symptoms, medical insurance claims went down by more than $1400 a year.

Other new studies documented similar connections between gum disease and increases in the risk of premature births, as well as reduced complications for people who have experienced a stroke. With good dental care, annual medical costs for both groups went down.

The scientists did some quick math to illustrate how important dental therapy can be in these difficult economic times and found that in just one subset of patients the savings could easily reach into the millions of dollars. Applying that to the millions of people in the U.S. who have difficulty with blood sugar control, the savings could quickly mount up into the billions of dollars. Let’s hope someone involved in setting the national healthcare agenda is paying attention.

If you’d like your checkbook to look as good as your smile, follow this link to find a Dentistry For Diabetics^SM dentist near you who will be happy to discuss how to lower blood sugar with proper dental care.