June 18, 2008
Diabetes & Gum Disease: Seven Key Points To Discuss With Your Physician
Here are the things you should be discuss with your physician and expect him or her to help with as part of your effort to integrate your oral and physical health care.
1. Make sure your physician is aware of the connection between diabetes and dental health.
2. Tell your physician that you’d like to include your dentist, who is knowledgeable about diabetes, as an important part of your treatment team.
3. Tell your physician that you’d like him or her to share your lab test results with your dentist and that you also want copies for yourself.
4. Ask your physician to have a “medical professional to medical professional” discussion or correspondence with your dentist about your condition that would help your dentist better treat your gum disease or other periodontal issues.
5. Talk with your physician about a team discussion if your diabetes control is not improved despite the prescription of medications that should help.
6. Urge your physician, your dentist and the other members of your health care team to help you manage your own behavior to improve your diabetes control.
7. Ask your doctor to screen for dental problems during your regular visits.
This is just a quick checklist. We’ll go into more detail on each of these points over the next few blog posts.
Did you know that there is a closed loop between your dental health and your ability to successfully manage your blood sugar? For more diabetes information, get your free five-lesson mini-course on diabetes and your teeth at DentistryForDiabetics.com.
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