Oral Hygiene Status and Caries Experience: A Comparative Study of Diabetic and Non- Diabetic Patients

Abstract

Objective: To compare the oral hygiene status and
caries experience among diabetic and non-diabetic
patients and to determine the relationship between
glycaemic control and the severity of the oral health
problems among the diabetics.
Methods: The comparative cross-sectional study was
carried out among diabetics and non-diabetic who
were age and sex matched. Data collated include
demographic characteristics, fasting blood sugar
level, number of decayed, missing and filled teeth,
oral hygiene status as well as the presence and extent
of tooth mobility. Chi-square test was used to test for
statistical significance difference between categorical
variables in both groups. Comparison of the mean
simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S) score and the
mean decayed teeth (D), missing teeth (M), filled
teeth (F) scores in both groups was done using
independent t- test. P-value<0.05 was considered
statistically significant.
Results: A total of 168 patients (84 cases and 84
controls) participated in this study. The mean decayed
missing and filled teeth score among cases and
controls was 0.37 ± 0.51 and 0.57 ± 0.23 respectively
(P= 0.009) while the mean Oral Hygiene Index score
was 1.81 ± 0.09 among the cases and 2.18 ± 0.10
among the controls (P= 0.039). Majority of the cases
(54.8%) and controls (65.5%) had fair oral hygiene
status (P=0.166) while most of the cases (52.4%) had
no caries experience with a DMFT score of zero (P=
0.032). More persons in the control group had decayed
teeth, missing teeth and mobile teeth (P>0.05). Filled
teeth were however seen in 16.7% of cases and 4.8%
of controls (P=0.032). In diabetic patients with poor
glycaemic control, more decayed, missing, filled and
mobile teeth were seen while periodontal disease was
the major reason for tooth loss among the diabetic
patients.
Conclusion: There is a difference between the oral
hygiene status and caries experience in diabetic and
non-diabetic patients while poor glycaemic control is
directly related to the severity of the oral health
problems among the diabetics.