DIABETES IN RELATION TO CERTAIN ORAL AND SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS

PART I: CLINICAL STUDY OF DENTAL CARIES, TOOTH ERUPTION, GINGIVAL CHANGES, GROWTH PHENOMENA, AND RELATED OBSERVATIONS IN JUVENILES

¹ Columbia University and New York Diabetes Association, New York, N. Y.

Ninety-four diabetic juveniles, 4 to 19 years of age, were studied, the data on 81 of the number being analyzed by statistical methods. The duration of the diabetes was 3 months to 14 years. Data directed at ascertaining the relationship between diabetes and growth and development as a whole, and the teeth in particular, yielded insignificant correlations. They point to the conclusion that precocious general, sex, and dental development in juveniles cannot be linked per se to the diabetic state.

In contradiction to previously published reports, no significant reduction was found in the incidence of tooth decay in diabetic children. This finding minimizes the theory that caries of the teeth may be controlled by nutritional means via the general metabolism.

In most cases the gingivae were violaceous in color, thickened, and of increased crevicular depth. They showed important changes of a beneficial nature. These changes were associated with hyperplasia, hyperkeratinization, and increased glycogen deposits in the epithelium. They are discussed in detail in the histological study which is Part 2 of this report (44).

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